A female medical worker in Shanghai has become the first hematopoietic stem cell donator this year to help an overseas patient. The recipient is a US resident suffering from leukemia.

Xiong Qian, director of Shanghai Gonghui Hospital's endocrinology department, donated the hematopoietic stem cells – found in the bone marrow of adults and used to treat blood diseases such as leukemia – at Shanghai General Hospital in late January.

A total of 414 milliliters of her hematopoietic stem cells was collected and transported to the United States.

Xiong is the city's 423rd hematopoietic stem cell donator and the 19th to help an overseas patient since Shanghai launched the donation program.

She registered in China's marrow donor database in December 2017 and was told at the end of 2018 that a matching patient was found.

Across China, the number of donations of hematopoietic stem cells reached a record annual high of 913 in 2018, up 13.7 percent year-on-year, according to the China Marrow Donor Program.

As of December, 2.65 million people have registered with the program as potential hematopoietic stem cells donors and a total of 7,915 donations were made, including 317 for patients outside the Chinese mainland.