Cross-Straits donation clears countless hurdles to save a life

In the early morning on March 31, the staff of Beijing Cord Blood Bank was standing by to receive a special donation — a batch of blood stem cells.

Around 10 am, a liquid nitrogen tank equipped with GPS positioning and a temperature measurement system arrived at the bank through professional logistics.

The tank traveled more than 3,000 miles by air, land and sea and broke through the epidemic barrier because it contained blood stem cells from a donor in Taiwan.

After careful sterilization, handover, information verification and inspection, the staff of the liquid nitrogen bank of Beijing Cord Blood Bank safely stored the hematopoietic stem cells in its professional vapor-phase liquid nitrogen storage tank.

The cells will be delivered to Peking University People's Hospital to treat an elderly leukemia patient.

In late March, the Beijing Cord Blood Bank received a request for help from doctors at Peking University People's Hospital and the China Marrow Donor Program.

After receiving the necessary information, they began preparatory work.

On March 24, the stem cells were successfully collected at a hospital in Taiwan, and the Tzu Chi Stem Cells Center immediately prepared, divided and transferred the cells to liquid nitrogen at -196°C.

On March 26, the "jar of life" departed from Taiwan and arrived in Shanghai directly through the Taiwan Straits.

However, Shanghai was in the midst of another round of a new epidemic lockdown, and the situation was "critical."

Hematopoietic stem cells are a vital biological resource, and the process of storage and transportation is highly demanding.

The teams had to ensure transportation safety and meet the requirements of epidemic prevention and control in different regions, adding a great degree of difficulty to the transport of these stem cells.

Will they clear customs in time? Will they be transported to Beijing smoothly? Every step of the process was a new challenge.

With the assistance of the China Bone Marrow Bank and the active cooperation of Shanghai Customs staff, the application and customs declaration process was completed by a professional logistics company in just three days.

The "jar of life" was accompanied by a "letter from a family member" from the donor in Taiwan, addressed "To my family."

When the patient's family opened the letter, written by the 40-year-old man who was anxious about his "relative's transplant," they were deeply moved and looked forward to finding this "relative" in Taiwan to express their support.

The donation and transport of this valuable donation will help the future of cooperation across the Taiwan Straits, according to the staff involved in every step of the process.

All the people who worked hard to make this shipment happen stayed closely connected.

This blood stem cell donation is not only breaking through the wall of the epidemic, but also carrying the wishes of all people for friendship and brotherhood.