Shanghai is working to make blood donation a voluntary, rather than compulsory, process, but that means hundreds of thousands of volunteers must step forward.

For a long time, blood donations in the city had a compulsory element ?people chosen as donors had to give blood and, in return, were compensated and even rewarded with holidays by their work units or companies.

Eight companies in Shanghai's Minhang District recently declared that they would eliminate compensation for blood donors, effectively throwing a stone into a tranquil lake and embarrassing many enterprises that still maintain the blood-for-pay system to encourage more employees to donate.

"When we received the quota for nine blood donors last year, I was so surprised because in Taiwan it all comes from volunteers,?said Ricky Lin of Shanghai Les Enfants Co Ltd, one of the eight companies.

Although donors could receive money and a holiday for their efforts, staff were unwilling to participate. So Lin decided not to enforce the demand. Instead, he held a party and invited the company's employees from Taiwan to attend and donate blood in a non-compulsory way. As a result, 27 workers donated blood at the party, far more than required by the quota.

This year Lin held a similar party in September for local staff, about 30 of whom donated blood. The compensation was not monetary but in the form of food and drink.

"They told me they were happy and not nervous about blood donation now,?he said.

Compulsory fear

Up to the present day, more than 60 per cent of the city's blood supply has been dependent on compulsory donations rather than volunteers who receive no money or holidays.

Compulsory blood donation started in 1989 as a means of meeting the local demand for blood at hospitals. The city's compulsory blood donation regulations say that anyone who donates blood can obtain compensation from the blood collection organizations. At first, compensation ranged from 8 to 60 yuan (96 US cents to US$7.25) per person.

Song Qi, an official with the Shanghai Blood Administrative Office, said: "But now, some well-run enterprises can pay compensation as high as 1,000 yuan (US$120) and give one or two weekdays off with the aim of encouraging and rewarding donors.

"But such compensation leads to some bad misunderstandings. People think blood donation harms their health and that's why they need compensation and rest.?

Blood donation is especially unpopular with older employees.

Sheng Chongming, a retiree who used to work for a now-closed State-owned enterprise, said most of her colleagues were somewhat reluctant to donate blood.

"Every year, the factory would pick some workers according to the amount of blood required. The factory would pay people about 700 yuan (US$85) each. But thinking it would harm their health, not many people were willing. Some who had good relationships with the factory leaders could avoid donating. It was not fair,?she said.

The quota for each district was fixed by the city government every year and passed on to the districts, then to bureaux, committees and offices, then to enterprises and institutions such as the factory where Sheng worked.

Lack of volunteers

Last year, the city began to change the compulsory system to one that was volunteer-based.

"It is the trend," said Song.

The volunteer system of donating blood was originally introduced around the world during the 1930s. Now, more than 90 countries and regions have such a system and all the blood needed by hospitals comes from volunteers.

To make blood donation more convenient, Shanghai increased the number of mobile blood collection stations ?specially fitted buses ?last March. In 2002, the more than 72,000 bags (200 ml per bag) of blood collected accounted for 20 per cent of the city's total usage. "It is a good start,?Song said. "But the rate of development for voluntary blood donations is still not fast enough compared with other cities in the country.?

The reality is that Shanghai, with its population of 16 million, needs 100,000 to 150,000 volunteers a year instead of the current 30,000 to meet demand.

In an average city, if just 3 to 4 per cent of residents participate in blood donation, a sufficient store of blood can be guaranteed. The rate in Shanghai today is only 1.2 per cent.

"To push it along, I think the policy should be adjusted,?Song said.

In Qingdao in North China's Shandong Province, one donation of 1,000 ml can guarantee its donor free blood up to the same amount for life. In Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong Province, a similar donor can have lifelong, unlimited access to free blood.

But in Shanghai, no matter how much you donate, you can only get five times the donation volume for five years. "The preferential policy is not so encouraging ?we have suggested to the local people's congress that they adjust the regulation,?Song said.

Among the current number of volunteers, almost half are from other provinces now working in Shanghai who are described as "new Shanghainese? According to statistics at the Blood Administration Office, most are young and highly educated.

As the first university in Shanghai to promote voluntary blood donation over the compulsory system, Shanghai Jiaotong University welcomed the second batch of blood collection buses on November 19.

"That was really a stirring scene,?said Zhang Sanlin, a graduate student at the university. "I was on my way to the canteen and saw this awe-inspiring spectacle going on right in front of the building. Undergraduate students who had just been dismissed from their morning classes quickly gathered around the blood collection bus."

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