Blood profiteering claims dismissed
By Wang Qingchu and Cai Wenjun |
August 2, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
HEALTH professionals have denied online rumors that they are profiteering from blood transfusions.
An Internet post claimed the Red Cross sold blood to hospitals for 200 yuan (US$31) per 200-milliliter pack, and hospitals sold these to patients for 500 yuan.
But a doctor with the blood transfusion department in a major Beijing hospital told the People's Daily that these claims are simply not true.
Each pack of blood is sold to hospitals for 220 yuan - a flat rate across the nation, said the doctor.
This covers the cost of collecting, storage, separation and testing; the blood itself is provided free of charge, added the unnamed medic.
Hospitals then sell the blood to patients for prices of around 300 yuan. They increase the price because additional testing and matching is done in hospitals, the Beijing doctor said.
Blood that requires specialized processing will sell for a higher price, the doctor added.
Professionals also sought to play down the role of the Red Cross Society of China - which has been hit by controversy over its use of funds - in collecting blood.
Liu Jiang, director of Beijing's blood center, said the Red Cross Society was only in charge of promoting blood donations, while the health authority was responsible for collecting, testing, and distributing the blood.
Blood centers are funded by national finance, said Liu.
In Shanghai, each pack of blood is sold to patients for a 240 yuan blood transfusion fee. Recipients are also charged a 480 yuan mutual aid fee for each pack.
Registered blood donors in the city get these charges reimbursed.
And someone who receives blood and afterwards gives blood within seven months will have the mutual aid fee refunded.
This also happens if a member of their family gives blood within this period.
People aged over 60 and expats are exempt from the mutual aid fee.
According to Health Ministry figures, donated blood accounted for more than 99 percent of all blood used in clinical procedures in China in 2010, a huge leap from 5 percent in 1998.
An Internet post claimed the Red Cross sold blood to hospitals for 200 yuan (US$31) per 200-milliliter pack, and hospitals sold these to patients for 500 yuan.
But a doctor with the blood transfusion department in a major Beijing hospital told the People's Daily that these claims are simply not true.
Each pack of blood is sold to hospitals for 220 yuan - a flat rate across the nation, said the doctor.
This covers the cost of collecting, storage, separation and testing; the blood itself is provided free of charge, added the unnamed medic.
Hospitals then sell the blood to patients for prices of around 300 yuan. They increase the price because additional testing and matching is done in hospitals, the Beijing doctor said.
Blood that requires specialized processing will sell for a higher price, the doctor added.
Professionals also sought to play down the role of the Red Cross Society of China - which has been hit by controversy over its use of funds - in collecting blood.
Liu Jiang, director of Beijing's blood center, said the Red Cross Society was only in charge of promoting blood donations, while the health authority was responsible for collecting, testing, and distributing the blood.
Blood centers are funded by national finance, said Liu.
In Shanghai, each pack of blood is sold to patients for a 240 yuan blood transfusion fee. Recipients are also charged a 480 yuan mutual aid fee for each pack.
Registered blood donors in the city get these charges reimbursed.
And someone who receives blood and afterwards gives blood within seven months will have the mutual aid fee refunded.
This also happens if a member of their family gives blood within this period.
People aged over 60 and expats are exempt from the mutual aid fee.
According to Health Ministry figures, donated blood accounted for more than 99 percent of all blood used in clinical procedures in China in 2010, a huge leap from 5 percent in 1998.
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