According to media reports,Cai Lei has been diagnosed with ALS for more than six years. The disease has gradually deprived him of his mobility and speech abilities, and he can only rely on an eye-control device to communicate with the outside world.In August 2024, Cai Lei recorded a special video before he "lost his voice." At that time, we all hoped that it would not be broadcast one day, because it meant that he could no longer speak.
In the video, Cai Lei said: Although ALS has ruthlessly deprived me of my ability to speak, it cannot stop me from continuing to fight against it. Overcoming ALS is not only my personal struggle, but also a common challenge for all mankind.
Cai Lei also said: Please don’t worry about me. Although my body is limited, my spirit will always be free and my will will always be firm.I will still spare no effort to contact and cooperate with domestic and foreign scientists, doctors, scientific research institutions, biomedical companies and all sectors of society to promote the progress of ALS research until the last moment of my life.
At the end of 2025, Cai Lei said that his ALS had entered an advanced stage and was close to the terminal stage.
Cai Lei endured unimaginable pain day and night, but he was still working at full capacity. He said that a major breakthrough for ALS should be made in the next few years. He asked everyone to pay more attention to scientific research and cooperation, which is the hope of life for patients with difficult problems.
Cai Lei was born in May 1978 and served as vice president of JD.com Group. In 2019, he was unfortunately diagnosed with ALS. However, there is currently no cure for this rare disease.
After being diagnosed with ALS, Cai Lei, who never gave up, built a patient medical big data scientific research platform called "The Home of Gradual Recovery Mutual Aid", which has linked tens of thousands of patients so far. He also founded the ALS public welfare fund and charitable trust, investing tens of millions of yuan in total, and specially established the "Life Science Icebreaker Award" and "Icebreaker Scholarship".
