Foreigner Donates 420 Liters of Rare Panda Blood
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The first thing Peter thought about on the morning of the first day of 2023, was going to a blood donation center in Tianjin, the city he had grown fond of ever since he set foot there.
"I am very accustomed to this process," he said.
Peter Mecoy, a 58-year-old from Australia, has been donating blood in Tianjin for 15 years, this was his 271st visit to the center.
"My father is a doctor, and my mother is a nurse. I have known that I have a rare blood type since I was a child, and this blood type is known as 'Panda blood' in China. When I started college in Australia, I was donating blood regularly."
In 1992, Peter went to Tianjin for work. He inquired about blood donation process when he had settled in the city but was told that foreigners could not donate blood at the time.
After working in the city for 16 years, he saw by chance a bilingual flyer with information about donating blood at Tianjin station square and decided to try and ask again.
Two days later, when he saw a bloodmobile near the Tianjin Book Building, he walked up to the vehicle and asked the staff about the process of donating blood.
After he completed the registration process, he donated 400 ml of blood for the first time that very same day. He continued donating two times each year until he learned that he can also donate platelets every two weeks. He started donating twice every month, or 24 times each year.
"I have an Rh-negative blood type which is called 'Panda blood' in China because it is very rare. This makes it even more meaningful to keep donating blood." He told reporters.
2023 marked his 15th year since he started donating blood. He has already donated a total amount of 420,000 milliliters of blood — about 90 times the amount of blood in an adult human body.
"I have lived in China for more than half of my life, it is my home and I take Chinese people as my brothers and sisters... My blood might help mothers giving birth or seniors having surgery, so I am happy to help." He said.
After each donation, Mecoy gets a certificate. "I've collected a stack of them. They are proof of my donations and are the most precious gifts..."
In 2022, Peter won the National Lifetime Honorary Award for his contributions to blood donation.
Cao Meng, one of the staff at Tianjin Blood Center, told reporters that Rh-negative blood type accounts for only 0.3% of the Han population. Peter's Rh-negative type A blood is rarer. The amount of blood he donated over the years was enough to ensure the clinical use to thousands of patients.
At the age of 58, Peter only has two more years to donate blood before he becomes unqualified to do so due to the age limit for blood donations in Tianjin.
"I want to donate as many times as possible and hope this will encourage more people to volunteer."
Peter runs a WeChat group that has dozens of foreign blood donors.
"My friends are from all over the world. It does not matter if their Chinese is good or not," he said. "I will help them as long as they are willing to give blood."
Reference: Health Times
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