Shanghai citizens volunteer to give blood. (Photo : Getty Images)
To encourage more Chinese to volunteer to donate blood, a Hello Kitty-themed mobile blood donation center was stationed at the Jing'an Park in Shanghai.
This bus, with Hello Kitty designs and interiors, encouraged a lot of citizens to take part in blood-letting. The donated blood is expected to help millions of patients in China.
The Hello Kitty Corporation and the Shanghai Blood Center collaborated for this endeavor. In particular, the theme of the mobile blood center enticed volunteers aged 20 to 29.
This is the second time that both parties joined in the same effort. In 2008, they were able to get over 800 volunteers in 45 days.
The endeavor also received positive responses from the public, said Zhang Xi, deputy director of the Shanghai Blood Bank. She said that blood donation drives not only increase in supply, but increases awareness on the importance of saving lives.
The ongoing campaign of the Shanghai Blood Bank aims to stop the sale of blood in the black market.
The government banned the sale of blood and encouraged more people to donate. Due to the limited number of volunteers, many were left helpless and sick. Patients are then forced to go to "blood heads."
"Blood heads" are individuals who sell certificates so that patients can have access to state blood banks. According to government laws, only certified patients can get blood.
A retired civil servant from Shanghai said, "To us patients, buying blood solves our problems. If there were no blood heads, what would I do?"
Hong suffers from myelodysplastic syndrome, a debilitating blood condition.
