China 'blood famine' patients turn to black market

Shanghai

CHINA'S rising demand for health care is exposing a chronic shortage of an essential commodity: blood.

With hospital blood supplies tight, desperate patients are turning to agents known as "blood heads", who sell certificates that give patients access to state blood banks, creating a black market at the heart of the healthcare system. "To us patients, buying blood solves our problems," said Hong, a retired Shanghai civil servant who suffers from myelodysplastic syndrome, a debilitating blood condition. "If there were no blood heads, what would I do?" The "blood famine", as it has been dubbed, is an unintended consequence of China's attempts to restore faith in the nation's scandal-stained blood supply and encourage people to donate.