Young Tang Xiaoping was an "old hand" at blood donation. Sitting in the blood donation room, he did not show any signs of tension as captured by Wang Yadong in a photograph.
By Jin Heng, Reporter for this newspaper
Editorial Note:
As a megacity with a population of around 20 million, Shanghai shoulders the responsibility of becoming Asia's leading medical hub catering to the entire nation. However, with societal development, advancements in medical technology, and the acceleration of population aging, the average annual medical blood usage in Shanghai over the past three years has exceeded 420,000 units, creating a significant demand gap.
In the coming years, with the official launch of the city's new round of medical resource layout under the “5+3+1” project, blood collection efforts will face even greater challenges. During the "12th Five-Year Plan" period, increasing blood collection volumes and ensuring clinical blood needs in Shanghai require the establishment of a fixed team of voluntary blood donors of a certain scale, providing a robust and reliable support system for clinical blood use.
We need heroes like Tang Xiaoping, and we hope that voluntary blood donation becomes a spontaneous action for every healthy citizen.
In Minhang District, there is an out-of-town working youth named Tang Xiaoping, who is under 30 years old but has already received the Shanghai Blood Donation White Magnolia Award and the National Gold Award for Outstanding Contribution to Voluntary Blood Donation.
Yesterday, before returning to his hometown of Fuzhou for the New Year, Tang Xiaoping once again came to the blood donation center as scheduled to donate platelets. After a quick calculation, it turned out that his number of blood donations in Shanghai had reached 39 times (equivalent to 42 units), and adding the 37 times he donated in his hometown, he had achieved an astonishing total of 76 donations, with a total blood volume exceeding 50,000 milliliters.
A Blood Donation Star Cannot Be Judged By Appearance
Last year, A-type blood in the city was temporarily in short supply, which is a normal periodic shortage, but coincidentally coincided with a nationwide "blood shortage". During my interview, I learned by chance that Tang Xiaoping is A-type blood. In 2009 and 2010, every 28 days, he went to the Meilong Blood Donation Center to donate one unit of platelets (800 milliliters) without interruption, making him a well-known "blood donation star." I was very puzzled; it's easy for someone to do a good deed once, but to persist for so many years requires what kind of perseverance and belief? What kind of person is this young man in his early thirties?
It took quite a bit of effort to arrange the interview. Sometimes he was at Nanjing Road, sometimes at Wuzhong Road, and then suddenly at Caobao Road, with no fixed time or place. His Mandarin on the phone carried a distinctive southern accent from Fujian Province. He was very patient and spoke softly, "Sorry, I am always out and about, either on public transport or walking."
Finally, we decided to meet at his home. At 5 PM, I waited at the Lu-Jin intersection, and a tall, thin figure approached. He looked more mature than his actual age, with a large black tool bag slung over his shoulder. "Hello, hello, sorry to keep you waiting," he said as he walked over, removing his gloves and extending his hand. "Are you Tang Xiaoping?" I rubbed my eyes, unable to believe that on such a cold winter day, he was only wearing a thermal shirt and a thin cotton jacket, yet his hands were warm.
"I'm used to it, even in snowy weather, I wear just this much," Tang Xiaoping laughed, explaining that he didn't have a down jacket. "Gloves, scarves, and thermal pants are essential; cold starts from the feet, right?" Indeed, carrying a 20-kilogram bag every day, whether by vehicle or on foot, reaching his destination to work, how could he not sweat profusely if he wore too much?
As Xiao Tang led the way, he pointed to a fitness area in the neighborhood, saying, "I don’t like sleeping in. I get up at 6:40 AM and exercise here for half an hour." Describing his life as "retiring at sunset and rising at sunrise" might be an exaggeration, but growing up in a rural area of Fuzhou, Xiao Tang developed such a lifestyle rule from a young age.
This Is A Humble Abode, But Virtue Dwells Within
Calling it a home, it was actually a rented room in an old residential area. After getting married last year, he moved from the employee dormitory to this place. The bed took up most of the room, and the cabinets and dining table filled the remaining space tightly. Tang Xiaoping changed into slippers, pulled out a stool from under the table, and sat seriously on the bed.
Xiao Tang's job is after-sales maintenance of sensor faucets. In September 2007, he was sent to Shanghai by his company in Fuzhou to work, walking through streets and alleys every day. Xiao Tang happily said, "Our clients include government offices, courts, universities, restaurants... We interact with people from all walks of life, at a high level, and their conversations are very insightful, offering great learning opportunities."
As we chatted, he sheepishly asked, "Can I borrow the stool?" Using the stool as support, he opened the curtain of the closet above the door, struggling to take down a suitcase, unlocking it to reveal certificates of blood donation, various honor awards, trophies, medals, and other prizes. "Is this really your collection?" Tang Xiaoping answered somewhat embarrassedly, "Not really, I just hide them because I don't want my wife to see. I'll tell her gradually, hoping she can understand..."
Laying out 26 blood donation certificates, Tang Xiaoping also took out an old notebook from the box. It was densely written, recording the time, location, amount of blood donated, total blood donated, and even converted "weight" from his first blood donation onwards. He said, "If calculated as 500 milliliters equaling 0.5 kilograms, the total blood volume of over 50,000 milliliters has reached more than 50 kilograms, equivalent to the weight of an adult."
The box also contained stacks of certificates, trophies, and medals, including national gold awards and the Shanghai White Magnolia Award... Tang Xiaoping smiled and said, "I've forgotten how many awards I've received, I guess I've gotten all the ones I should." "Are these honors important to you?" "Of course, they affirm me."
Repaying a Drop of Water with a Spring of Gratitude
Where does his perseverance and belief come from? Xiao Tang told a story.
It was the summer of 1996, when Xiao Tang and his younger brother climbed a lychee tree near their home. "That tree was only three or four meters away from our house, very close, and we had climbed it many times before, but that time something went wrong," Tang Xiaoping said regretfully. Both brothers fell from the tree onto a cobblestone path; his brother suffered a broken arm, and Tang Xiaoping hit the back of his head on a stone slab, causing severe bleeding and unconsciousness.
The hospital issued a critical condition notice, and with his family's poor financial situation, they couldn't afford the expensive medical fees. "I never expected that teachers and students from my school would donate money to save me." The teachers and students of the vocational high school where he studied did not abandon him; they pooled their money together and managed to pull him back from the brink of death. Seven days and seven nights later, Tang Xiaoping regained consciousness.
"At a very young age, my mother left home, and my father raised us alone. That was the first time so many people cared about me," Tang Xiaoping's eyes were brimming with tears. "If it weren't for the help of those kind-hearted people, there wouldn't be the me of today. They taught me gratitude and made me cherish life."
On September 12, 2001, shortly after starting work, while strolling one day, Tang Xiaoping happened to see a mobile blood donation vehicle. The lively scene made his blood boil. "Blood donation is harmless to the body and helps others, isn't this something I can do?" He hurriedly squeezed into the crowd and donated 200 milliliters of blood. Thus, voluntary blood donation became his way of expressing "gratitude." Although the school had long since been renamed and he had lost contact with classmates, Tang Xiaoping's love for giving back to society remained unchanged.
After graduating from vocational school, Tang Xiaoping repaired lathes and learned home appliance repair. In September 2007, he came to Shanghai, "to broaden my horizons and learn more things." By then, he had already donated blood 37 times in Fuzhou, with a total blood volume of 24,600 milliliters.
The following year, the Wenchuan earthquake occurred, and the details of the disaster weighed heavily on Tang Xiaoping's mind. However, his blood donation interval was not until May 15th, "Those few days felt like years." Tang Xiaoping lamented anxiously. Due to the high number of people scheduling blood donations, it wasn't until May 21st that he got the chance to lie on the blood donation chair. Watching the clear bag of platelets in front of him, he deeply sighed in relief.
An Ordinary Person with Great Ambition
"Are you a blood donation hero? Does your workplace or family know?" Tang Xiaoping smiled and shook his head, answering, "No, sometimes I take a leave of absence, using two or three hours to donate blood, trying not to affect my work. Starting last year, I adjusted my blood donation schedule to weekends as much as possible."
When asked about future plans, Tang Xiaoping smiled faintly, his tone softening. Although he holds a mid-level certificate in home appliance repair, he only has a diploma from a secondary vocational school, making it difficult to establish himself in Shanghai. "One step at a time, with a monthly salary of over 2000 yuan, rent takes up a third of it, but it’s considered high back home. Let's save money for the future."
Flipping through a pile of "Health Wealth" magazines and "Health Newspapers" on the table, Tang Xiaoping suddenly became cheerful again: "The other day, I read in the newspaper that someone had component blood donations reaching over 150 times, wow, that's really impressive." Tang Xiaoping revealed a look of admiration like a fan, shaking his head in disbelief, completely forgetting that he himself was also a "star" having donated blood dozens of times.
"If I could donate that many times, that would be great," Xiao Tang's eyes lit up, immersed in his own dream, not forgetting to comfort himself, "I'm still young, I will surpass him." Just as the reporter finished writing the article, he sent a text message saying, "My goal is 200 times, I want to learn from that blood donor."
Perhaps many people haven't noticed, among the top ten reasons for blood donation revealed in the city last year, one came from Tang Xiaoping - "Love for life, helping others benefits oneself." Contributions of love are often quiet, but dreams can be bigger and farther-reaching, just as ordinary worker Tang Xiaoping said, "Maybe I can't become a dazzling star in this lifetime, but I will certainly be a hero in voluntary blood donation."