As sources say, among the over 600 cities across China, only more than 300 of them have set up blood stations. Many of the blood stations are very simple and crude and not in conformity with the basic State-set standard.

Besides, due to the quickening spread of AIDS years by year, the epidemic environment of diseases spreading through blood has posed an increasingly severe threat to blood security.

To ensure the safe use of blood, the State has decided to use a special fund (T-bond fund) within the central budget in the construction of blood stations nationwide.

Through building provincial blood centers and improving infrastructure facilities and conditions in central blood stations in cities and prefectures, the country aims to basically set up and improve a safe and sufficient blood-collecting and supply network which covers the whole nation, block the incidence of diseases spreading through clinical blood and guarantee blood quality security and demand.

It is reported that a total 2.25 billion yuan(US$272.18 million) has been invested in the construction of blood stations, which include 1.25 billion yuan(US$151.21 million) of T-bond funds from the central government and 1 billion yuan(US$120.97 million) of local supporting funds.

The project covers the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities nationwide. It involves the construction and renovation of 29 provincial blood centers, 289 prefectural and city blood stations and 141 county-level blood banks in west China. The project will markedly improve Chinese blood collecting and supply institutions' hardware conditions and improve the quality and level of blood test. Completion of the project will basically guarantee the clinical use of blood in 85 percent of China's regions.

(People's Daily February 25, 2002)