Police Constable (PC) Joe Lai Cho-yiu from Marine South Division believes his sacrifice is a blessing to a family.  

 

He had been a blood donor long before joining the Force in 2009. "One of my relatives met with a traffic accident many years ago and required blood transfusion urgently.  This made me realise that blood donation could save life.  Thereafter, I started donating blood regularly."

 

After joining the Force, Joe keeps supporting the force-wide blood donation campaigns.  During a blood donation, he came across a chance to opt for donation of bone marrow to save dying patients.

 

He recalled: "I registered as a bone marrow donor in mid-2013. In June 2014, I received a call from the Red Cross.  The nurse told me I was a suitable donor of bone marrow for a patient suffering from severe leukaemia and invited me to take further blood tests.  I said 'OK' without any hesitation because nothing is more important than saving a life. In the first place, my wife was a bit worried that it would be risky for me, but I thought donating my bone marrow should be a kind of blessing.  My wife was convinced and gave me full support."

 

After confirmation that his bone marrow did match with that of the patient, Joe started to have subcutaneous injections of a drug which stimulated the generation of bone marrow and allowed the haematopoietic stem cells to be collected from bloodstream.  

 

"The drug induced some side effects to my body. But with the support of my family and colleagues, I got over them all," Joe said.  However, in the final blood test, Joe's platelet level was lower than average.  Collecting haematopoietic stem cells from bloodstream was therefore not recommended and surgical operation was the only option.  Finally, Joe underwent an operation with general anaesthesia and donated his bone marrow to the patient.

 

"Thankfully, my supervisors and colleagues were all very supportive to me.  They shared my job throughout the period and let me concentrate on recuperation," said Joe.

 

Joe has recovered and returned to work. His story is definitely a good inspiration for promoting blood and organ donations.  His generosity and selfless act have not only saved the life of the patient but also encouraged others to do the same to help more patients and their families.