8-year-old boy gains over 10 kg in order to save his father from leukemia

An boy from Jiangsu province has piled on the pounds in order to undergo a hematopeietic stem cell transplantation needed to save his father.
According to NetEase, the 8-year-old Cao Yinpeng emerged as the match able to donate to his father after exhausting all other relatives and the national bone marrow bank.
Cao’s father was diagnosed with leukemia earlier this year. The boy was reportedly devastated at the sight of his father suffering in hospital and began to put on the weight required to reach the 45 kg needed to safely go through with the transplant.

Cao began to eat a lot at each meal and went running in order to strengthen his body. He gained over 10 kg and successfully donated to his father at the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical College on July 6.


Now that his father is on the mend, Cao is trying to lose weight and dreams about following up on plans to travel to Australia with his father.

The surgery has already cost the family over 400,000 yuan ($60,000), with another 400,000 yuan needed for continuing medical expenses. The family has had to sell their apartment in order to fund the operation.
By Sophie Wang
[Images via ChinaDaily]