At 4,500 meters above sea level in Nagqu, Xizang Autonomous Region, medical professionals are achieving what was once deemed unthinkable: giving critically premature infants a fighting chance through China's highest-altitude neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
The story of Dolma Choekyi symbolizes this healthcare revolution. Born six months into pregnancy during an emergency car ride to Lhasa, her 1,000-gram frame faced staggering odds in the oxygen-thin plateau environment. Yet today, she thrives – a testament to cutting-edge medical interventions now available through cross-province collaboration.
This transformation stems from China's 'group-style' medical assistance program, deploying specialist teams from across the country to upgrade Xizang's healthcare infrastructure. Advanced techniques like neonatal endotracheal intubation and portable ultrasound diagnostics have been successfully adapted to high-altitude conditions, reducing infant mortality rates in remote communities.
"Every successful case here rewrites medical textbooks," explains Dr. Wang Li, a neonatologist from Shanghai participating in the program. "We're not just bringing equipment – we're training local teams to sustain these advancements."
With over 50 premature infants treated since its 2022 opening, Nagqu's NICU stands as a beacon of China's healthcare modernization efforts, proving world-class medical care can flourish even in Earth's most extreme environments.
