From Life-Or-Death to a Proposal
In 2013, in China’s north-west region of Shaanxi, 24-year-old Wang Xiao faced a dire diagnosis: uremia, end-stage kidney failure. Doctors told her she had only about a year to live without a kidney transplant.
With no suitable donor among her relatives and each passing day weakening her, Wang made a desperate, unconventional choice. She posted a personal ad in an online support group for cancer patients. In it she wrote: “I will take the best care of you after marriage. Please forgive me, I just want to live.”
She asked for a partner who was already terminally ill, someone whose kidney she might eventually receive. This radical bargain — a marriage for a kidney — shocked many.
An Unlikely Respondent
Enter Yu Jianping, aged 27, battling recurrent myeloma (a bone-marrow cancer). His medical treatment had drained his family’s resources; his father had even sold the family home to cover costs.
He matched Wang’s blood type and responded to her ad. In July 2013, they quietly registered their marriage. Their agreement: Wang would care for Yu through his illness and look after his father; in return Yu agreed that after his death his kidney would go to her.
What Was Supposed to Be a Pact Becomes Something Else
What started cold and transactional gradually warmed.
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Wang accompanied Yu to his chemotherapy sessions.
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Yu, struggling with illness, found solace in Wang’s care and sincerity.
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Wang sold flower bouquets on a street stall, sharing their story with each card: the girl needing a kidney, the man fighting cancer. The public responded, and she raised funds — reportedly about 500,000 yuan — to support Yu’s bone-marrow transplant.
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Their shared hardship, daily routines, and small moments of humour transformed their arrangement into companionship — and then a deeper connection.
By mid-2014, incredible shifts occurred: Yu’s cancer stabilized; Wang’s dialysis needs dropped dramatically — doctors even suggested she might not need a transplant at all.
A Celebration and A New Life
In February 2015, to mark their journey and continuing hope, the couple held a wedding banquet — not just for the contract, but for the life they had built together.
Their story became viral: a pact born in desperation turned into something hopeful and human. Media outlets across the globe shared their tale of survival, love and resilience.
What Happens Next?
According to reports, Wang and Yu now live quietly together in Xi’an, Shaanxi province, and run a small flower shop. Their health remains stable as they move ahead with the life they unexpectedly created.
What seemed like a deal for death became a pact for life. They didn’t just survive — they found belonging, purpose and love.
Why This Story Resonates
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It raises big questions about marriage, organ donation and morality: Was it ok to do such a pact? But then it took a turn.
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It illustrates human resilience: when both people were told they might die soon, they found reasons to fight and to care.
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It reminds us that love isn’t always cinematic beginnings — sometimes it starts in hospital hallways, under drip lines, in the least glamorous places, and surprises us.
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It gives hope: medical odds stacked high; people said they wouldn’t last. Yet they did.
Final Thought
What began as a survival plan — a marriage of convenience to exchange care for a kidney after death — evolved into a genuine bond between two people who should never have been here. They rewrote their endings. From death sentences to shared bouquets, hospital rooms to small business beginnings, their story is proof: sometimes the darkest bargains can lead to the brightest futures.
Sources
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“Sick China woman marries cancer patient as part of kidney donation deal; couple fall in love” — South China Morning Post. scmp.com+1
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“Woman, needing kidney transplant, marries terminally-ill cancer patient: What happens next turns into a movie” — LiveMint. mint
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“Chinese woman who married for a kidney finds true love as couple thrives against the odds” — Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times
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“Love story of couple with terminal illness made into movie” — VietBao. vietbao.vn
