• A pregnant woman at Weifang People's Hospital in Shandong gave up her surgery slot for a critically bleeding expectant mother.

• The emergency patient arrived unconscious and lost around 3,500 ml of blood before doctors performed emergency surgery.

• The mother survived and recovered, but her baby could not be saved despite emergency medical efforts.

A pregnant woman in Shandong province, China, gave up her scheduled operating room at Weifang People's Hospital so doctors could perform emergency surgery on another expectant mother who arrived unconscious after suffering severe bleeding during pregnancy. The critically ill patient survived after more than two hours of treatment, though her baby could not be saved.

The woman who gave up her operating room had already completed pre-surgery preparations and had been fasting for nearly two hours before her scheduled procedure.

The emergency began when a taxi arrived at Weifang People's Hospital carrying a young pregnant woman who was unconscious and covered in blood. She had no identification documents, medical records, or family members with her.

Zhu Yuchun, director of the hospital's obstetrics centre, instructed staff to begin treatment immediately despite the absence of paperwork or advance payment. Zhu also instructed staff to proceed first and complete the paperwork later, with the hospital covering the initial treatment costs. However, all operating rooms were occupied, leaving doctors without an available theatre for at least 40 minutes.

At the same time, another expectant mother had already completed preparations for surgery and was waiting in an operating room. After doctors explained the situation, she reportedly responded, "Save her first. I can wait," and agreed to postpone her procedure so doctors could treat the critically ill patient. Her family later publicly supported the decision, saying they would have done the same in such circumstances.

Medical teams rushed the patient into emergency surgery and found that she had lost about 3,500 millilitres of blood in a short period, nearly the total blood volume of an average adult woman. Doctors also discovered that the baby's heartbeat had stopped before delivery.

Although removing the uterus is sometimes considered the safest option in cases of severe bleeding, doctors were able to control the bleeding while preserving the woman's uterus. After more than two hours of surgery, they successfully saved her life, but the baby could not be revived despite resuscitation attempts after delivery.

The patient later regained consciousness and was transferred from the intensive care unit to a general ward for further recovery.

Doctors reported that the patient lost about 3,500 ml of blood before surgery, an amount close to the total blood volume of an average adult woman. Such cases can rapidly become critical and may require urgent surgery to save the mother's life.

In some emergencies involving uncontrolled bleeding, doctors may need to remove the uterus to stop further blood loss. In this case, however, surgeons were able to preserve the patient's uterus while stabilizing her condition. Research from China's National Maternal Near Miss Surveillance System has shown that severe obstetric bleeding remains a major cause of massive blood transfusion and obstetric emergencies in China.

Also see: How Severe Pregnancy Complications Reduce the Chances of More Children: Study Insights

According to a survey cited by the South China Morning Post, more than one in four pregnant women in China reported experiencing pregnancy-related complications. The findings highlight the frequency of maternal health challenges and the need for timely access to medical care when emergencies arise.

The incident also gained widespread attention on Chinese social media, where many users praised the woman's selfless decision to delay her own surgery so another expectant mother could receive life-saving treatment.

The woman who gave up her operating room slot later underwent her own procedure and delivered a healthy baby boy.

Reference:

1. Li, Xueyan, Ling Feng, Jin Wang, Yaying Zheng, Yanping Wang, and Juan Liang. “Incidence, Trends and Risk Factors for Obstetric Massive Blood Transfusion in China From 2012 to 2019: An Observational Study.” BMJ Open 11, no. 9 (2021): e047983. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e047983.

(Rh/TP/MSM)