China on Thursday honored outstanding voluntary blood donors to
mark World Blood Donor Day.
"Voluntary blood donations, which embody the spirit of
sacrifice, friendship and humanity, have achieved remarkable
progress in China," Vice Premier Wu Yi wrote to a teleconference
commending the outstanding service of units and individuals.
More than 95 percent of blood collected for clinical use came
from voluntary donations at the end of 2006, and all blood used in
one third of Chinese cities were from voluntary donors, Wu
noted.
"Volunteers are concerned about people's health and safety and
social stability and harmony. To promote voluntary donation and
ensure blood safety is a long-standing task," Wu wrote.
Health Minister Gao Qiang said risks of blood donating have not
been completely rooted out in China and "irregularities still
remain".
China's Law of Blood Donation was introduced in 1998. The
proportion of blood collected through voluntary donations has been
rising since then. The law forbids donors from giving blood more
than once every six months.
However, problems still exist in blood safety. Paid blood
collection still exists in the country and some local governments
set quotas that require people to voluntarily donate.
A total of 3,833 people received blood donation dedication
awards on Thursday, and central China's Henan Province, once
infamous for unlicensed blood collection that lead to the spread of
HIV/AIDS in 1990s, was honored for its recent progress.
The teleconference was jointly held by the Ministry of Health,
Red Cross Society of China and People's Liberation Army's General
Logistics Department.
(Xinhua News Agency June 15, 2007)