Chinese woman terminates her baby's life to save elder brother (photo)

A young woman from China has sparked a debate after she chose to terminate her unborn baby's life to save her big brother's life .

Yang Li, 24, from Hangzhou City, was 12 weeks into her pregnancy, when she decided to give up her child so that she could provide a bone marrow transplant for her brother, Yang Jun, 29.

Mr Jun suffers from lymphoma - he was diagnosed in September 2015.

The doctors told the 29-year-old that his only chance of survival came in the form of a marrow transplant, to which followed the news that his sister, Ms Li, was a perfect match.

Sadly for the 24-year-old, after discussing the potential donation with experts, she was warned that donating marrow would have a significant negative effect on her child. She was recommended to choose either her baby or her brother.

With the support of her husband and her in-laws, Ms Li made the impossible decision to save Yang Jun. She recently underwent abortion surgery in Hangzhou and is recovering.

DailyMailUK reports the doctors will perform the marrow transplant surgery in the near future as soon as Ms Li's body is ready.

However, opinions on Chinese social media have been polarising, with some labelling the woman a 'hero' and others criticising her decision.