Jiang Ying

She's a doctor who makes herself available for people with AIDS and tries to alleviate their pain, giving her mobile phone number out to patients, taking a phone call in the middle of the night, helping pay for their medical care, publicizing AIDS information at different places, even living with them awhile, because, as she explains, many people just cannot accept the fact that they have the disease and has witnessed their tears, sadness, fear and despair, which took her on this mission.

Dr Jiang Ying, 32, is with the AIDS department of China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the Shijingshan district of Beijing and thinks that, even though AIDS is something that most people are afraid of, and sees the people with the disease as "a group of people who need our concern and assistance, and understanding and trust."

Jiang Ying at work [Photo/http://bjby.bjwmb.gov.cn/]

In 2010, a drug addict was diagnosed with HIV and became hysterical but said "Even if it's true, I don't care" and was unwilling to accept the diagnosis, causing problems for the doctors until Dr Jiang started talking about his mother with the man which calmed him down. He then said that everything he did, including dealing in drugs, had simply been to bring his mother a better life, and he was really sorry about his current situation. So, after a long talk, Jiang tried to encourage him to start over again and make a new life. And now the man is a volunteer publicizing AIDS and prevention among drug addicts.

The more Jiang learned about these AIDS patients, the more determined she was to find a way to help relieve their pain even though what she was undertaking was not only a high-risk occupation, but also involved people refusing to accept her help. So, to increase preventative measures, she began taking colleagues to construction sites, jails and places of entertainment to talk to the people there, do blood tests, and hand out condoms. It was not just a few times when people would slam the door or throw the condoms back at them.

Jiang was even jabbed by a needle a patient was using and exposed to infected blood, so that some of her relatives and friends would keep a distance and avoid her but no one could deny Jiang's seriousness about her career and her patients.

One migrant worker's family of three, in the district, all have AIDS, and the daughter is less than 3-years-old, so Jiang helped them apply for financial help and even gave them some money and goods herself. Then there was a college student with AIDS who impressed her a lot. He had dropped out of school because of the disease and wrote to Jiang saying, "I want my roommates to wake me up, I want my buddies to clap me on the shoulder and say 'Good job'! I want humans to defeat AIDS in the not too distant future. I really want my life back."

Jiang stays in touch with the young man and tries to keep his confidence up to live a healthy, happy life like others. And she often tells others that "AIDS is horrible and abominable, but the people with it are miserable and pitiful. They fear the disease, but are more afraid of facing it alone." Jiang has made a tremendous effort in fighting AIDS, and hopes that one day people can live together with the patients in a world without discrimination.

Jiang answering questions from a patient.[Photo/bjby.bjwmb.gov.cn]