Liu He left talks with the mother of a child with thalassemia during a meeting for parents of children with the ailment in Changsha, Hunan province. I don't want to die, please, I want the blood transfusion, please," a girl of age 6 pleaded with her sobbing mother. She had been diagnosed with thalassemia, a hereditary blood disorder that causes anemia, increases the risk of infection and, in severe cases, can lead to heart problems.
Liu He's own daughter was waiting for a transfusion when she met the girl's sobbing mother at a hospital in Changde, Hunan province, in It was the start of a year journey that has raised millions of yuan to help hundreds of children with thalassemia. Liu, only 26 at the time, choked back tears as the other mother told her the family could not afford the expensive treatment, let alone the follow-up care.
Liu gave her several hundred yuan and told her to bring her daughter to the hospital for regular transfusions and call her for help if needed. Liu has great empathy for parents whose children have thalassemia because her own daughter was diagnosed with a severe form of the disorder six months after her birth in She was told her daughter could only be cured by a bone-marrow transplant and that regular treatment - blood transfusions, for example - would just prolong her life.
Liu posted stories about her daughter's recovery and how to take care of recuperating patients on Tencent's QQ, a microblogging platform, under the name "Angel of thalassemia". Her efforts gave encouragement to many parents who were afraid to send their children for transplant surgery because of the risk of failure.
Liu knew of more than children in Hunan suffering from thalassemia, with many of their parents unaware of how to manage such patients or perform follow-up care. She organized the first meeting for parents of children with thalassemia at Hunan Children's Hospital in March , as well as forming a group to improve communication among affected families and help raise money for those unable to afford treatment.
