Is this headline the work of a China Daily English polisher having some fun?
Blood center calls for expats’ blood
The Shanghai Blood Center is baying for laowai blood because Shanghai “often lacks RH-negative blood, which is very rare among Asians but a little more common among Westerners.”
The article quotes Xie Yunzheng, director of the blood center’s social service department: “We hope more foreigners can donate such blood to add to our storage. Local patients need their help”.
In Beijing at the moment, everything is somehow related to the 2008 Olympics. Shanghai is currently going through the same nonsense with the Grand Prix. Mr Xie also had this encouragement for foreigners to donate blood:
“Besides, Shanghai will host Formula 1 China Grand Prix on September 24 to 26. The donation is also likely to help injured drivers.”
He should perhaps have spent a little more time explaining how the Shanghai Blood Centre uses sterilized needles: there are two words that describe everything that most foreigners know about blood transfusion in China: ‘Henan’ and ‘HIV’.
The China Daily story is here.