Initiative gives children renewed joy

Free wigs made from donated hair help patients overcome hair loss from radiotherapy sessions

In December, 4-year-old Liu Lizi, who lost most of her hair loss due to radiotherapy treatment for cancer, received a wig made of real hair.

Two years ago, the girl was diagnosed with blastoma. In addition to the pain of her illness, Liu was often teased by other children for being bald head.

Now, thanks to the Black Ribbon Initiative, a public welfare program, the little girl once again has a full head of beautiful black hair.

"Lizi used to be very upset about her hair. Now, she wears the wig everywhere she goes and dances with joy," said her grandmother, Cui Zhanying.

So far, the girl has received 30 rounds of radiotherapy at the Chongqing University Cancer Hospital.

The initiative started in April last year and seeks out volunteers nationwide to donate hair to make free wigs for child cancer patients. So far, it has made wigs for 17 girls, including Liu. The program was jointly initiated by the hospital, the Chongqing Medicinal Biotech Association and Fazhiyuan Hair Products (Chongqing).

As of Feb 28, it has received 2,059 donations of hair from 32 provinces and autonomous regions, according to the initiative's volunteer service team.

Similar initiatives exist elsewhere in the country, such as the Tsingsi Hair Donation Organization, set up by the Shanghai International Studies University in 2015, and Gold Ribbon, set up by the Guangzhou Gold-Ribbon Special Children Parents Center in 2016.

The Black Ribbon Initiative is the first of its kind in Southwest China.

"Since she got her wig, Lizi is in a good mood and has become a bit of a social butterfly at the hospital," said Li Xiaoyu, a doctor at the hospital's radiotherapy center, who added that the little girl has made a good recovery. "It is really a good initiative."

Li added that many years ago, another 4-year-old girl, hospitalized with a brain tumor, cried her heart out when she lost her hair after a series of treatments and asked her mother to buy her a Barbie doll, just so that she could have some hair to comb every day.

"A wig can really help rebuild a young patient's confidence," Li continued. "Little girls are beauty-conscious and have no concept of diseases or tumors, but when they start to look different from their peers as they lose their hair, they develop psychological traumas."

According to the hospital, the center is treating 10 different kinds of cancers and tumors, including leukemia, brain tumors, lymphoma and bone tumors. Last year, it treated 170 young cancer patients under the age of 18, mostly from neighboring Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces.

The plight of younger patients deeply touches many peoples' hearts and the initiative has received a great deal of public attention across the country. Ou Mengyu, director of the Black Ribbon Initiative volunteer service team, said that in addition to the recent rapid increase in donations, there are more than 1,000 potentially interested donors online, including children and young men.

Li Chaoyang, a graduate student at the College of Environment and Ecology at Chongqing University, heard about the initiative on the hospital's social media account and decided to donate her long curly hair in late September.

"It happened to be my 23rd birthday, and I made up my mind to sign up for the initiative and donate my hair as a special gift," she said. "The more I found out about it, the stronger my determination to get involved became."

Li Chaoyang turned from hair donor to volunteer with the program. She said her job involves answering questions in the online donor chat group, checking donations and sending out donation certificates by express mail. "A short wig costs over 2,000 yuan ($315) to buy, and a longer wig is even more expensive, which creates a financial burden for families that may already be on a tight budget," Ou said.

According to the director, the minimum length of hair for a donation should be no less than 30 centimeters. A lot of hair gets lost in the process of making wigs, so a 15-cm child's wig normally requires hair from eight to 10 donors.

To apply for a free wig, the patient and their parents make a written application. A volunteer then takes the patient's measurements and sends them with the donated hair to the company for processing. "For young cancer patients who are released from the hospital and going back to school, a wig offers hope," said Lai Yun, one of the volunteers.

If the patients are not able to get their wigs while they're hospitalized, the volunteers send them by express mail as soon as they are ready. "We're just doing our part to contribute to society," said Zhou Lin, general manager of Fazhiyuan.

She said that few companies are interested in making children's wigs because of the cost of labor and the raw materials. Also, children grow quickly, so the life span of such wigs tends to be short.

In early January, the program expanded its coverage to adult female cancer patients facing financial difficulties. Eight women, including a 34-year-old with breast cancer, have received free wigs. Ou said that the initiative is also looking for young candidates for free wigs at other hospitals in the city this year.