Farmer distributes free organic vegetables to children with leukemia

On Friday, Jia Wenyin came to the First Affiliated University of Harbin Medical University in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, to deliver 350 kilograms of organically grown vegetables to children suffering from leukemia at the hematopathology department.

In the past month, he has delivered more than 1,000 kilograms of vegetables to them for free.

Jia, 42, is a farmer in Xinhe village, Shuangcheng district in the city.

In June last, his 12-year-old son was diagnosed with leukemia and the doctor told Jia to pay strict attention to his diet.

In order to insure his son had pollutant-free vegetables, he built a 40,000-square-meter base to plant vegetables without any chemical fertilizer or pesticides.

When the time for first harvest came, he thought of those children he had met in the hospital.

"The parents who are in the same situation always help each other," Jia said. "Therefore I decided to do something for them."

Wang Yanli, 37, mother of a 3-year-old boy, said she did not have to worry about safety with Jia's vegetable.

"Furthermore, the free vegetables help reduce our expenses," she said. "It is really important for me to save money for my son's treatment."

"The patients with leukemia, especially the children, need more attention to diet due to their weaker immunity," said Zhong Tao, vice-head nurse of the department. "Jia's pollutant-free vegetables can greatly help them avoid harm from unhealthy food."

Now, Jia is preparing to build a greenhouse in his base.

"I hope the children can eat pollutant-free vegetables all year round," he said.