Actress Liu Weiwei (R) poses with Yan Ying and her youngest son Jiachuan in this February, 2008 photo. Yan Ying's devotion to saving her blood cancer-stricken son Xinfa has inspired an award-winning film. [File Photo: ent.sina.com.cn]
A remarkable story about a mother's devotion was first published on September 3, 2006 in a Chengdu, Sichuan Province newspaper, the Tianfu Morning Post. Two days before the story broke, Yan Ying, a 39-year-old mother of two, had given birth to her third child. The baby boy had yet to be given a name, and had been brought into the world by his divorced parents in the hope that the newborn's cord blood could be used to save the life of his blood cancer stricken brother. Doctors felt that the desperate attempt had a 25 percent chance of success.
Qin Xinfa, Yan Ying's eldest son, was diagnosed with myelodysplasia in 2000 at the age of six. The rare disease, unofficially called "preleukemia," can develop into leukemia and is often life-threatening on its own.
Yan Ying and her husband had divorced in 2002, but desperate to save her son she pleaded with her ex-husband to have another child. The husband agreed, but unfortunately the newborn's cord blood did not match. (Xinfa died one month later.)
The news story caused quite a stir as people marveled at Yan Ying's determination to save her child. Film director Wang Xiaoshuai was intrigued by the story and soon set aside the film he had been working on to devote his time to a project about this mother's incredible devotion.
"Zuo, You" ("Left, Right") premiered at this year's Berlin Film Festival, where Wang Xiaoshuai won the Silver Bear award for best screenplay.
