Li Cancan, a first-year graduate student from Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, donates hematopoietic stem cells to help a patient with a blood disorder in Australia. [Photo/jsxc.gov.cn]

A postgraduate student from Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine has donated hematopoietic stem cells — multipotent primitive cells capable of developing into all types of blood cells, including both myeloid-lineage and lymphoid-lineage cells — to help a patient with a blood disorder in Australia.

On March 31, Li Cancan, a first-year graduate student at the university, donated 307 milliliters of hematopoietic stem cell suspension after a 4.6-hour collection procedure.

She became the 1,823rd donor in Jiangsu and the 271st in Nanjing. She was also the second volunteer in Nanjing to donate hematopoietic stem cells to a recipient overseas.

According to the Jiangsu branch of the Red Cross Society of China, the China Marrow Donor Program is a formal member of the World Marrow Donor Association and is connected to marrow donor registries around the world. Because of the complexity of human genetics, no single national registry can fully meet all matching needs within its own population, making international cooperation essential. As one of the world's largest marrow donor registries, the China Marrow Donor Program has become an important source of hope for patients worldwide.

Li's connection with stem cell donation began during her undergraduate years in Yancheng, when a campus blood donation drive introduced her to the concept.

"I was there to donate blood as usual, and that was the first time I learned in detail about stem cell donation," she recalled. "When the staff explained that it could give leukemia patients a second chance at life, I didn't think too much about it and signed up for the China Marrow Donor Program."

She had assumed it was a slim possibility that she would ever be matched. But earlier this year, she received a phone call informing her that she was a successful match.

"My first reaction was surprise, along with a little nervousness, but more than anything, I felt a strong sense of responsibility," Li said. "The odds are so small, and yet it really happened to me. It felt like a rare bond between two lives."

She said she decided to donate almost immediately, though her family initially had concerns. After explaining the process and safety of hematopoietic stem cell donation, she won their support.

As of Feb 28, 2026, more than 3.78 million people had joined the China Marrow Donor Program, and more than 22,000 donations had been completed.