Blood supplies running low across China as cold weather and surge in respiratory illnesses take toll
- Authorities in some of the country’s biggest provinces appeal for donations as stocks start to run short
- Local authorities warn shortages are threatening operations as temperatures ‘drop off a cliff’
Local authorities and blood centres in several of the biggest provinces, including Henan, Shandong, Fujian, Hubei and Shanxi, have warned of a sharp drop in the number of donations and appealed for people to contribute.
According to state-controlled news outlet ThePaper.cn, blood stocks in Xinxiang, a city in Henan province, were running so low that they threatened the supply for operations and other hospital needs.
The city’s publicity department and local Red Cross Society issued an urgent appeal on Friday, saying demand was surging but fewer people were donating because it was winter.
Yuncheng, a city in the central province of Shanxi, issued a similar appeal for donors, saying donations had fallen dramatically after temperatures “dropped off a cliff” while respiratory illnesses surged.
“The number of people choosing to have surgery has greatly increased ... and clinical blood consumption has been running at a high level, resulting in severe difficulties and challenges in meeting the blood demand,” the centre told ThePaper.
