National alert in China: hospitals lack blood
Following a series of scandals related to the illegal sale of infected plasma, people are no longer donating their blood. The country needs to increase stockpiles by over 6000 tonnes to meet minimum security standards.
Beijing (AsiaNews/SCMP) Mainland blood centres are scrambling to fill a vacuum in blood donation following the outlawing of the blood trade and the dismantling of a compulsory donation scheme six years ago.
According to statistics from the Chinese Society of Blood Transfusion, quoted by the China Youth Daily yesterday, mainland blood centres manage to collect about 3,000 tonnes of blood a year, while a population of 1.3 billion should have a stockpile of at least 9,600 tonnes of blood a year to meet international safety standards.
In December 2004, the first time in 20 years, the Beijing Blood Centre ran out of type AB blood. Low blood stockpiles have prompted the centre to appeal for donations several times this year.
The alert over the blood shortage came after the central government cracked down hard on the illicit blood trade, in the wake of a spate of contamination scandals.
A survey published by the World Health Organisation yesterday, World Blood Donor Day, showed that voluntary donations accounted for 94.5 per cent of collection on the mainland. Zhao Rongguo, a senior adviser to the Beijing municipal government, said authorities must tighten accreditation on centres to calm public fears about donating.
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