Zhou Xiaojuan, a 30 year-old woman in China's Gansu Province, has donated more than 4,000 cc of her blood over the past 11 years, even more than the total volume of blood in her body.

Zhou Xiaojuan at work?[xinhuanet.com]

Zhou has Rh-negative (A) blood type, which is also called "Panda Blood" by the Chinese people, because of its extreme scarcity. Among the majority Han ethnic population, only 3 out of every 1,000 have Rh-negative blood, and even fewer are A type.

 

Zhou made her first blood donation in 2000 when she was still a 19-year-old polytechnic school student, but didn't find out about her unique trait until several years later. Since then, she has kept frequent contact with the blood center, volunteering to donate her blood for any patient who might need it.

Though she comes from a poor family, and her salary is not high, Zhou has never thought of receiving any compensation for her blood, and has never contacted those saved by her donations.

Zhou has been dubbed by netizens as "The Most Beautiful Panda Girl" after her experiences as a volunteer blood donor were reported by the media.

Zhou said there's no need for others to remember her, be grateful of her, and reward her. "I don't want them to live with any mental burden or feel they owe me anything," she said.

Wang Shuishan, a staff member at the Gansu blood center, said that Zhou is like a "firewoman" to the local community. "Zhou is always ready to help, at any time when she's called. I am so moved. We often don't have the heart to ask for her help, and we won't turn to her unless it's really urgent."

Nan Dangbin, director of the blood center, said based on Zhou's weight (about 50kg), the total amount she donated over the years is actually more than the total amount of blood in her body.

The center's records showed that the warm-hearted young girl has been a donor 14 times over the past 11 years. Most recently, Zhou donated blood in September of this year, when the blood center called her again to save a pregnant woman. Zhou volunteered to help without any hesitation.

Zhou recalled that she was nervous and a little scared when she donated platelets in October 2008. "It was the first time for me to experience blood component donation, which took over one hour. I was really nervous and felt sick, but I made it."

Zhou said that she will continue donating in years to come, at any time when there is an urgent need, as long as her health condition allows.

In 2010, she launched a QQ online chat group in order to communicate with other rare blood donors' to further help those in need. The group, named "Pandas' Home", now has more than 30 members, and has become an important source of donors for the blood center.