A group of police officers from the Shanghai Jing'an Public Security Bureau are on duty at Shanghai Railway Station, one of the four major train stations in Shanghai in February, 2020. Photo: Yang Hui/GT

"I'm leaving for Wuhan to deliver four copies of stem cells. Our train leaves at 9:30. There are only 8 minutes left." 

On Saturday, Zhao Lingfeng, a traffic officer with the Public Security Bureau in Shanghai's Jing'an district, was approached by two doctors from the Shanghai East Hospital who wanted to deliver for copies of stem cells for novel coronavirus (COVID-19) victims in Wuhan.

It's almost a seven-minute drive to the Shanghai Railway Station, but the doctors were lost after following incorrect directions, which led them to a dead-end street. The doctors' train was scheduled to depart within eight minutes.

Time was tight, and a slight delay could reduce a patient's chance to live, said Zhao Lingfeng, a police officer who escorted the doctors to the train station, arriving just before the train departed.

According to the doctors, the stem cells were prepared that morning and needed to be used within nine or ten hours. 

"We nearly missed the train. Thank you so much, otherwise, the stem cells will be wasted," the two doctors said when thanking the police for their help.