Hospital shortage begets blood black market

全国多地现血荒，黑市从中牟利

Several cases of illegal trade in human blood for transfusion were exposed in East China’s Jiangsu Province on Tuesday. The black-market deals are partly caused by the country’s severe blood shortage, experts said, calling for an update to China’s current blood donation laws.

26日，中国东部的江苏省曝光了几例非法血液交易。专家表示，这种黑市交易的兴起，一定程度上是由我国严重的血液供应不足引起，并呼吁修正中国当前的献血法。

Amid a shortage of blood at hospitals in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, many desperate patients in need of blood transfusions have turned to illegal agents to help them find blood donors, news portal qilu.com reported Tuesday.

据新闻门户齐鲁网星期二报道，由于江苏苏州的很多医院血液供应紧张，许多急需输血的病人将目光转向非法血液组织，期待帮助他们找到供血者。

"I can find a donor as long as you tell me the blood type of the patient a day in advance," a blood seller in Suzhou who asked for anonymity told the Global Times on Monday. He claimed he charges 1,000 yuan ($154) for every 200cc of blood he gets donated to a local blood bank or hospital.

星期一，苏州一位不愿透露姓名的血贩在接受环球时报采访时说，“只要你提前一天告诉我患者的血型，我就能找到供血者。”他表示，每提供200CC鲜血给当地的血站或者医院，价钱是1000元。

"By national standards, 200cc of blood only costs around 210 yuan in hospitals," Wang Chuanxi, deputy chief of the Guangzhou Blood Center, told the Global Times, adding that the fee covers the cost of blood storage and processing.

广州血液中心的副主任王传喜告诉环球时报记者，“而根据国家收费标准，200CC血液只要大约210元。”他补充说，这还包括了血液的存储和处理费。

China’s Law on Blood Donation encourages patients’ family members, relatives, friends and colleagues to donate blood for mutual aid, but says it is illegal to make arrangements for another person to sell his or her blood for a patient’s use.

中国的献血法鼓励病人的家属和亲朋好友以及同事互助献血，并规定组织他人售卖血液用于病人输血是违法行为。

"All you have to do is to tell the blood bank that the donor is your colleague or friend," the seller said.

这位血贩表示，“你只需要告诉血站，供血者是你的同事或者朋友就行了。”

"As the current law does not specify what constitutes blood donation for mutual aid, it is necessary to update the law to define how the relationship between donor and patient should be determined," Fan Rong, a doctor at Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

北京清华长庚医院的医生樊荣于星期二接受环球时报采访时称，“现行的献血法并没有明确规定什么是互助献血，献血制度亟待改善，以对互助献血时输血者和供血者之间的关系给出定义。”

Experts have stressed that it is crucial to resolve the blood shortage to strike a blow to China’s illegal blood trade.

专家们一致强调，要解决血荒问题，打击当前中国的血液黑市是至关重要的。

"China has suffered a chronic shortage of blood in recent years. Despite the fact that more and more people have donated their blood, the donation rate in China is relatively low compared to developed countries, leading to tight hospital blood supplies," Fan said.

樊说，“近年来，中国血液供应紧张的问题一直存在。尽管参与献血人数有所上升，但与发达国家相比，中国的献血率相对还是比较低的，导致了医院血液供应不足的问题非常严峻。”

Only around 0.95 percent of Chinese people donated blood in 2014, while the rate should reach 1 percent to 3 percent to meet a country’s basic demand for blood, the Beijing Times reported in 2015.

据北京时报2015年报道，中国2014年的平均献血率只有0.95%，而要达到一个国家正常的用血需求，献血率得达到1%-3%左右。

Since Spring Festival this year, more than 50 large and medium-sized cities have suffered blood shortages, including Beijing and Shanghai, qilu.com reported. The Beijing News reported in November 2015 that a similar illegal trade in blood was also uncovered in the capital.

据齐鲁网报道，春节以来，包括北京、上海在内的50多个大中型城市都出现了血荒。2015年11月，新京报也曾报道过在北京出现的类似的血液黑市交易。

"Traditionally, Chinese people are reluctant to donate blood and have limited knowledge of the donation process. The government should make more efforts to educate the public and promote the transparency of blood management and use to reduce public mistrust in blood donation agencies," Fan said.

樊说，“传统上说，中国人不愿意献血，他们对献血过程的了解也很有限。政府应该作出更多的努力，向公众普及相关知识，并促进血液管理和使用的透明度，以提高公众对献血机构的信任度。”