Blood donation in China: sustaining efforts and challenges in achieving safety and availability

China has entered a new phase in blood safety and availability through persistent efforts in the past decades. Based on national data from 2008 to 2012, we present a comprehensive review on the blood services ranging from policy and organization, supply, donors, screening and processing, and clinical use to government response in contemporary China. Current evidence suggests that the Chinese blood industries, after continual efforts in reforms on the legal framework and national management system, have been in a relatively steady but bottleneck stage. Although the blood industries have had an impressive track record on management and resolving problems, such as low availability, limited donors, deficient laboratory tests, shortage of blood products, and unnecessary clinical usage of blood still exist nationwide. While medical technology and services have seen a rapid increase in progress in recent years, they have not coordinated with the development of the national health care system. This article presents an analysis with detailed data, rich contents, and recent response from the Chinese government, allowing readers to appreciate how China, a country with more than 19.13% of the world's population, has long endeavored to improve safety and availability of blood. Meantime, the article sincerely welcomes the guidance on policymaking and technical assistance from the international community. Data in this article do not include those of Hong Kong, Macao, or Taiwan.