South African patient travels to Ruijin for myeloma assessment and CAR-T treatment

A Shanghai government report published on February 4, 2026 describes how Oscar Chalupsky, a 62-year-old South African patient with high-risk multiple myeloma, reached Ruijin Hospital for specialist assessment and began a treatment plan based on CAR-T cell therapy. The report follows the steps leading to treatment; it does not provide his final treatment response.

From overseas treatment to an online discussion

Chalupsky, a former captain of South Africa’s Olympic kayaking team and a 12-time world champion, had been diagnosed six years earlier. He had sought care in South Africa, Portugal and Germany before looking for further hematology expertise. The article says he used online research, including AI tools, to identify Ruijin.

“I didn’t come to this Shanghai hospital to just have a try. I have high expectations for Chinese healthcare,” Chalupsky said in the report.

In November 2025, he communicated online with Ruijin’s international medical department and hematology team. They agreed to receive him in Shanghai for a pre-treatment evaluation. He arrived in December: the decision at that stage was to assess his condition, with the treatment plan to follow the investigations.

Testing before the treatment plan

His assessment included whole-body PET-MR, a bone marrow biopsy and T-cell function tests. After those examinations, the team developed a plan centered on CAR-T therapy and started local treatment. The approach described in the source involves taking T cells from the patient, modifying them to target cancer cells and reinfusing them.

A dedicated international department

Ruijin’s international services began in the 1990s, initially serving expatriates living in Shanghai. The department has since developed independent wards, dedicated teams and separate services, with nearly 100 beds. Department director Gong Yanchun said international demand increasingly includes complex conditions, rather than only check-ups and imaging.

The hospital reported approximately 150,000 international-department outpatient visits in 2025, about 7% above 2024. Foreign-patient outpatient visits rose by around 15%; this is a different measure from the department’s total volume.

Chalupsky subsequently recommended Ruijin to two patients from New Zealand who had followed his journey on social media.