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Saving children with leukaemia
(newsphoto)
Updated: 2005-12-30 06:28
However, she saw a glimmer of light, as little Hu Shuai is to become the
first child to benefit from the new project by receiving free treatment.
"I knelt down because I wanted to express my thankfulness to all the people
who have offered their support," she said.
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Chinese singer Li
Yuchun, winner of the Super Girl singing contest, receives a promotional
T-shirt from Wang Rupeng, secretary-general of the China Red Cross Fund at
the launching ceremony of the project "Saving Children With Leukaemia" at
the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Thursday December 29, 2005. Li is
one of the representatives of the project, which has been co-launched by
the Chinese Red Cross Foundation, enterprises, websites and major media
organizations including China Daily.
[newsphoto]
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The project has been jointly launched by the Chinese Red Cross Foundation,
major media organizations that include China Daily, enterprises as well as 100
websites. It is calling for donations from the public to help millions of poor
children who suffer from leukaemia like Hu Shuai.
Official figures show that there are at least 4 million Leukaemia patients in
China, and half of them are children. "The biggest problem they face is not how
to treat the disease, but where the money is going to come from," said Wang
Rupeng, secretary-general of the Foundation.
Wang said on average, a patient needs at least 200,000 yuan (US$24,700) to
cure the disease. If a bone marrow transplant is required, about 400,000 yuan
(US$50,000) will be needed.
"Obviously, most families cannot afford this," he said. "So they give up."
The project hopes to collect public donations of at least 50 million yuan
(US$6.2 million) to help 1,000 children. Each child is expected to receive aid
amounting to 50,000 yuan (US$6,200), according to the project scheme.
Hu Shuai will arrive in Beijing this week to receive free treatment at
Beijing Blood Disease Hospital of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine.
Su Fengzhe, president of the hospital, said that in China, more than 70 per
cent of lymphatic leukaemia patients could be cured, and that type of leukaemia
is the most common one among children.
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