China will spend a total of 2. 25 billion yuan on upgrading
blood-collecting centers and stations around the country in order
to stop the spread of such diseases as AIDS and hepatitis through
blood transfusion.
At
a signing ceremony of procurement and construction contracts in
Beijing on Wednesday, Yu Guangzhou, Vice Minister in charge of the
State Development Planning Commission (SDPC), said all the blood
centers and stations in China will have the means to test against
AIDS, hepatitis and other blood-transmitted diseases.
He
said the country will equip the blood stations with the necessary
buildings, facilities and vehicles as soon as possible. He said
through the efforts China has made over the past two years, the
country has come closer to the goal of establishing a nationwide
network of safe blood collection and supply.
There are now more than 300 blood stations around China. In
addition, more than 10,000 hospitals around the country have
established blood transfusion centers.
According to the Red Cross Society
of China, over 45 percent of the blood used in transfusions in
25 provinces and municipalities in the country was donated by
volunteers in 2000. In some places, people sold their blood for
money because the blood stations could not find enough donors.
Backward facilities at the blood stations incurred high risks of
the spread of epidemics.
Peng Peiyun, president of the Red Cross Society of China, said the
country is facing a very serious situation with the spread of AIDS.
She noted that the highest risk lies in unsafe blood transfusion
and blood products.
But she said the problem can be easily curbed. According to the
Ministry of Health, China spent 1.25 billion yuan in the
construction and upgrading of blood stations. It will give training
courses to all staff at the blood stations and implement a blood
quality control program under the sponsorship of the World Health Organization
(WHO) this year.
The country has already put into effect the Blood Donation Law and
Regulations on Management of Construction of Blood Stations.
The SDPC said the government has already concluded a public bid for
the supply of equipment for blood stations. Fourteen Chinese and
international suppliers have won the contracts for 18 kinds of
equipment and vehicles. China National Instruments Import and
Export Corp. signed the contracts with the suppliers at the Great
Hall of the People on Wednesday. The total value of the contracts
is 396 million yuan.
The SDPC expects that all the construction and renovation projects
will be completed by the end of this year. The construction of some
new blood stations has already begun.
(Xinhua News
Agency January 30, 2002)