Drive to ease strain on blood supply

The constant shortage of blood faced by some mainland cities has prompted health authorities and hospitals to resort to unusual means to meet demand.

The Ministry of Health on Tuesday issued guidelines to promote the efficient use of donated blood ahead of World Blood Donor Day tomorrow, amid increasing pressure on the country's blood reserves.

Clinical blood supplies on the mainland come mainly from donations. An acute nationwide shortage began to emerge in 2010, when it was widely reported that operations were being delayed due to the lack of blood.

One of the unusual ideas hospitals have instigated is 'reciprocal blood donations', where patients have to arrange blood donations from their families equal to the amount that is likely to be required in their surgery.

Although reciprocal donations have been legal since 1998, they were originally intended as an emergency measure and were rarely used before the blood shortage in 2010.

'Reciprocal blood donations are a good measure and should be used regularly. They help doctors to nurture the habit of being stringent with blood supplies,' said Liu Jiang , director of the Beijing Red Cross Blood Centre.

'It is not easy to ask a patient's family to donate blood. When doctors are feeling the pressure of blood shortages they will not be extravagant with limited supplies.'