AN eight-year-old boy suffering from leukemia has undergone a
bone marrow transplant, after Shanghai Daily readers helped pay
for surgery.

Hundreds of readers who read about Xu Ping'an's plight in
November contributed to a fund that has raised more than
240,000 yuan (US$37,897).

The money is to help Xu Ping'an and his five-month-old brother,
Xu Pingkang, who has congenital heart disease.

The boys' father, Xu Xuebing, told Shanghai Daily yesterday
that his elder son was recovering well after the operation at a
local private hospital.

Doctors told him healthy blood stem cells given to Xu Ping'an
were still alive after 10 days, which is a positive sign.

"I am really grateful to the people who have helped us," said
Xu Xuebing.

He called on the government to help pay for further medical
treatment for his sons.

"I'm hoping the government can lend a hand to help my boys get
through this," said the father.

Xu Ping'an, originally from Jiangxi Province, was diagnosed
with leukemia in 2007. The family moved to Shanghai in the same
year to get better treatment for the boy.

Last year, Xu Xuebing and his wife, Zhang Yuehong, decided to
have a second child, after being told by doctors that a
transplant of their second child's umbilical cord blood stem
cells could save Xu Ping'an.

But when Xu Pingkang was born last September, he was found to
have congenital heart disease.

When the opportunity arose for an operation for the elder boy,
the family decided to use his mother's blood stem cells as the
baby was too weak to provide them for his brother.

Through donations, the family managed to pay for the first
phase of treatment but cannot afford total medical bills,
estimated at 350,000 yuan.

Xu Ping'an is receiving further treatment in the Shanghai
DaoPei Hospital and will remain there for at least a month,
according to his father.

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Eastday-Leukemia boy gets op following cash appeal

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