Donated blood from African students has provided a lifeline for a cirrhosis patient at a hospital in Shenyang City, capital of northeastern China's Liaoning Province.  

The right blood match was found on Sunday after more than 20 students in the city offered to help out the Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University. 

A specific antibody found in the patient's blood is very rare in Chinese (three out of every 10,000) but it is carried by one-third of Africans.

As ties between African countries and China grow closer, more and more Africans are choosing China for the higher education. 

According to China's Ministry of Education, the number of African students has been growing by over 30 percent annually in the past decade. 

Now, China has become one of the top destinations for international students from African countries.

(Cover: An African international student donates blood at Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University in Shenyang City, northeast China's Liaoning Province.  /CRI Photo)