Beijing's health authority has issued a plea to citizens with
the rhesus (Rh) negative blood type to make donations to build up
supplies for overseas athletes at next year's Olympics.
The health authorities face a shortage of the blood type as only
three in 10,000 Han Chinese are Rh negative, according to official
figures.
"Beijing will welcome more than 500,000 foreign guests during
the Games and we need to reinforce our blood banks," Deng Xiaohong,
deputy director of the Beijing municipal health administration,
said.
A pressing job between now and the Games' opening ceremony in
August is to expand storage of the Rh-negative blood, which is
found in 15 percent of Westerners, she said.
Beijing-based hospitals need a total of 200,000 cc of
Rh-negative blood a year for clinical use, Deng said.
"When the blood is out of supply, we also ask other provinces
for help," she said.
New technologies have prolonged the shelf life of the
Rh-negative blood to 10 years by storing it at minus 85 C.
Occasional reports of blood shortages have prompted several
Chinese cities to set up special databanks with details of the
Rh-negative donors, including their overall health situation,
donation history and past illnesses, to ensure an adequate supply
in case of emergencies.
It can be fatal if a Rh-negative patient receives transfusions
of a different blood type. Expectant mothers with Rh-negative blood
are also vulnerable to miscarriages when the fetuses have a
different blood type.
(Xinhua News Agency September 7, 2007)