Li Wenyan was unable to afford medical bills for her seven-month-old daughter’s rare disease, which could cause her heart to fail within months. So she turned to a new source of funding: asking strangers for money on the internet.
“I come from generations of peasants and my family has an annual income of Rmb30,000 [$4,730],” Ms Li wrote in a post on a crowdfunding site. She added that treatment costs were Rmb120,000 a month and with “debts piled high I have no other option,” alongside two emojis showing hands clasped in prayer.
The campaign attracted more than 1,800 donations, raising almost Rmb30,000 — enough for one course of treatment with the drug Myozyme, manufactured by French company Sanofi.