Foreign blood donors wanted, again

Shanghai residents, particularly expatriates of European descent, are once again being called upon to help the city build its stockpile of blood, which has now dropped 44 percent below the ideal supply - the lowest level in recent years, said Shanghai Blood Administration Office Thursday.

Shanghai is currently surviving off roughly 5,000 200-milliliter units of blood per day, or 1 million milliliters, nearly half below the 9,000 units, or 1.8 million milliliters needed to provide a reasonable safety cushion for some 23 million residents living in the city, according to authorities.

Lu Yi, a press officer for the local blood administration office, described the situation as "pretty dire," saying that the city needs an average of at least some 240,000 milliliters of blood per day, or 1,200 units to meet the bare-minimum needs of the city.

"We were fine until October last year," she told the Global Times Thursday. "But then our stock began depleting and has fallen by roughly 40 percent from this time last year.

"Generally, we see the number of donors taper off during Spring Festival, given that many people leave town during the winter break, but this year has been exceptionally worse," she added. "And, for the first time, the city's blood supply was repeatedly drained during the holiday."

She was further pessimistic that the city's blood reserves, which rely on public donations, would rise anytime soon.

"Many people still haven't returned, and those who have are busy," she said. "They haven't had time to give blood."

Lu said that the "Guo Meimei" incident from June of last year, combined with the recent nationwide holiday has contributed to a more devastating situation this year.

The young woman angered donors when she claimed to be a China Red Cross manager on her microblog, showing off expensive cars and luxury brand purses - sparking public outcry over the ultimate intentions of the public welfare organization, which denied that she was their employee.

Lu Thursday urged foreigners, especially from Europe, to roll up their sleeves at one of the city's 21 donation stations before too long, saying that blood types A and O and Rh negative are most in need.

Studies have recently suggested that at least 15 percent of people of European blood tend to have an Rh negative blood type, compared to no more than four percent of Chinese people.

Foreigners in the city need to bring their passport and pass an on-the-spot medical check before donating. More information on the process in English can be found at www.shblood.org.cn.