Dong Deyu donates blood and demonstrates his certificates of blood donation. [Photo/VCG]

Dong Deyu, a man who has a rare type of blood, has donated his blood to help people in need for more than a decade.

A native of Hefei, Anhui province, Dong, 37, first donated blood in 2005, when he worked in a trading company in Shanghai.

"I learned about blood donation from my cousin who is a nurse, which made me want to help save people by donating my blood," Dong said, according to an article of Visual China Group.

The first time, Dong donated 200 milliliters of blood in a blood donation center.

Although Dong's family protested his decision, saying blood donation might harm his health, that did not change his mind.

Six months later, Dong learned at a blood collection center that he has Type O, Rh-negative blood, which is also known as "panda blood" in China as only three in one thousand people have such a blood type and Rh factor.

Therefore, Dong decided to donate more blood. And he shared his experiences and knowledge about blood donation with people around him.

Since 2008, Dong started donating platelet after learning that this approach would be more conducive to patients in need of blood. He donates on a regular basis – once every 14 days, the minimum interval allowed.

He also enrolled himself in the national data base of donators of hemopoietic stem cells, in hope of saving patients with blood diseases one day.

For the past 12 years, Dong has donated whole blood of 3,600ml in total and palate for 56 times.

Influenced by him, some relatives and friends of his also began donating blood regularly.