Yuan Li, a resident of Gangzha district, Nantong, donates 400 milliliters of Type O, RH-negative blood to a patient in Suzhou on March 4. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

Yuan Li, a resident of Gangzha district, Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, donated 400 milliliters of Type O, RH-negative blood to a patient in Suzhou, a city across the Yangtze River from Nantong, on March 4.

Lu Xuefeng, the son-in-law of the patient, said that his father-in-law was diagnosed with lung cancer and needed a blood transfusion, as his physical indexes for chemotherapy were not up to standard. It was difficult to find a suitable blood donor, as the patient has a rare type of blood.

Type O, Rh-negative blood, also known as "panda blood" in China, is present in only three of every one thousand people.

According to Lu, one person who intended to donate blood was not able to come due to travel restrictions related to the outbreak of the coronavirus. The family eventually decided to ask for help on WeChat and Weibo as a last resort. Luckily, they finally received a response from Yuan.

After learning of the situation, the local community promptly handled the relevant procedures and contacted a blood station in Changshu, a county-level city in Suzhou. Two community workers were dispatched to drive Yuan to the blood station.

"I believe it is good to donate blood to help others," said Yuan. "I wish more people, especially those with rare blood types, would do it."

Yuan and her husband both have RH-negative type blood and enjoy helping others. They met each other while donating blood in 2018 and often participate in volunteer activities together.