‘I owe it to mum’: boy gives 30 vials of blood after travelling 400km to see if he can be bone marrow donor to save sick mother
- The 10-year-old travelled more than 400 kilometres and underwent gruelling marrow matching tests to see if he could help save his mother
- The boy’s mother was diagnosed with leukaemia in July 2020 and requires a bone marrow transplant
A video of a 10-year-old Chinese boy having 30 vials of blood drawn to check his suitability to give his mother a life-saving bone marrow transplant has gone viral on Douyin.
Cao Song, 33, the boy’s father, told the South China Morning Post that his son, Cao Xuanyi, travelled more than 400 kilometres with his grandfather to Suzhou for a medical check-up on March 7 after his initial blood sample was found to match his mother’s.
In the video, which has attracted more than 237,000 likes online, the boy’s eyes are steady and firm as a medical professional draws blood from his arm.
“He used to be particularly scared of pain, but this time, knowing it was to save his mother, he didn’t say a word,” the father said.
The Caos are from Anhui province in eastern China. Xuanyi and his 3-year-old brother lived happily with their father and mother, with the family making a living running a small clothes shop until disaster struck.
Cao Meixia, 33, the boys’ mother, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in July 2020 after a blood test following a small injury to her leg.
The couple then decided to close their business, leave the boys in the care of their grandmother, and seek further treatment at a hospital in Suzhou.
They rented an apartment near the hospital not realising it would be their home for the next three years as they battled the disease.
“We’ve only gone home to see the children six or seven times in almost three years,” Cao, the father, said.
Cao was relieved to find that his wife’s condition had stabilised after five rounds of chemotherapy, only to learn her condition had relapsed at a medical examination in December last year.
Couples in China can now have up to three children
The only alternative now is a bone marrow transplant, and the safest option is to find a successful match from within the family.
After his wife’s brother’s bone marrow type proved to be a mismatch, Cao proposed to the doctor to examine his older son Xuanyi’s bone marrow after learning that many previous similar surgeries had been successful.
“If there was another option, I would not ask my child to do this,” Cao said. “It’s heartbreaking for me because my child is so young and skinny, even though the doctor assured me that it wouldn’t impact his health.”
Fortunately Xuanyi is a match and he is now at home, waiting to be called to Suzhou for surgery any day now. In the meantime, he is staying as healthy as possible ahead of the surgery.
“Because my mother gave birth to me, I owe it to her,” Xuanyi said. “I want my mum to accompany me home so that I can be happy every day.”
Cao Meixia has completed her ninth round of chemotherapy, and the transplant surgery is yet to be scheduled in eight to nine days once her doctor has completed reviewing the treatment’s effectiveness.
Many people were moved by the family’s story.
“Mum gave you a life, and you gave a life back to her,” one person commented on Douyin.
