Plasma Economy
Encyclopedia
Plasma Economy was a 1991-1995 plasmapheresis
campaign by the Henan
provincial government in China
, in which blood plasma
were extracted in exchange for money. The campaign attracted 3 million donors of mostly rural Chinese, and it is estimated at least 40% of the blood donors subsequently contracted AIDS
.
The Plasma Economy campaign boomed due to demand by biotech companies, and became a lucrative source of income for middlemen. The campaign had low health and safety standards, and lacked proper sterilization procedures; needles, blood bags, and other equipment in contact with blood were often recycled and reused. It is estimated that by 2003, over 1.2 million people had contracted AIDS in Henan Province alone.
noted that China's blood donation
system is largely monetarily driven, and while attempts had been made in the 1980's to move to a volunatry system, they were mostly unsuccessful. In the early 1990's, China restricted the import of blood products, while called for local investment by foreign pharmaceutical companies, especially to the province of Henan
, where numerous plasmapheresis stations were built. The selling of blood plasma were seen by locals as a method to reduce poverty.
In plasmapheresis
, blood plasma is taken from donors, while the remaining blood constituents such as red blood cell
s are returned to the donor. The blood plasma is then sold to pharmaceutical companies to produce blood-based products. As a cost-cutting measure, some stations mixed several bloods in the same centrifuge, resulting in large scale blood contamination. As a result, by 1995, such stations were shut down in Henan province, while blood collection was restricted by area, although demand for blood plasma still remained strong.
The impact of the Plasma Economy campaign had a long lasting effect. It is estimated that by 1999, the Caixian County in Henan had 43% of its blood donors being infected with AIDS, while in the village of Wenlou, over 65% of its residents had contacted HIV.
HIV/AIDS activist Yan Lianke
wrote the book The Dream of Ding Village in 2005 based on the incident.
Plasmapheresis
Plasmapheresis is the removal, treatment, and return of blood plasma from blood circulation. It is thus an extracorporeal therapy...
campaign by the Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
provincial government in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, in which blood plasma
Blood plasma
Blood plasma is the straw-colored liquid component of blood in which the blood cells in whole blood are normally suspended. It makes up about 55% of the total blood volume. It is the intravascular fluid part of extracellular fluid...
were extracted in exchange for money. The campaign attracted 3 million donors of mostly rural Chinese, and it is estimated at least 40% of the blood donors subsequently contracted AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
.
The Plasma Economy campaign boomed due to demand by biotech companies, and became a lucrative source of income for middlemen. The campaign had low health and safety standards, and lacked proper sterilization procedures; needles, blood bags, and other equipment in contact with blood were often recycled and reused. It is estimated that by 2003, over 1.2 million people had contracted AIDS in Henan Province alone.
History
CaijingCaijing
Caijing is an independent, Beijing-based magazine devoted to information on companies in China. The publication's title means "Finance and Economics Magazine." Caijing's driving mission is to have an "independent standpoint, exclusive coverage and unique perspective."- History :Caijing was...
noted that China's blood donation
Blood donation
A blood donation occurs when a person voluntarily has blood drawn and used for transfusions or made into medications by a process called fractionation....
system is largely monetarily driven, and while attempts had been made in the 1980's to move to a volunatry system, they were mostly unsuccessful. In the early 1990's, China restricted the import of blood products, while called for local investment by foreign pharmaceutical companies, especially to the province of Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
, where numerous plasmapheresis stations were built. The selling of blood plasma were seen by locals as a method to reduce poverty.
In plasmapheresis
Plasmapheresis
Plasmapheresis is the removal, treatment, and return of blood plasma from blood circulation. It is thus an extracorporeal therapy...
, blood plasma is taken from donors, while the remaining blood constituents such as red blood cell
Red blood cell
Red blood cells are the most common type of blood cell and the vertebrate organism's principal means of delivering oxygen to the body tissues via the blood flow through the circulatory system...
s are returned to the donor. The blood plasma is then sold to pharmaceutical companies to produce blood-based products. As a cost-cutting measure, some stations mixed several bloods in the same centrifuge, resulting in large scale blood contamination. As a result, by 1995, such stations were shut down in Henan province, while blood collection was restricted by area, although demand for blood plasma still remained strong.
The impact of the Plasma Economy campaign had a long lasting effect. It is estimated that by 1999, the Caixian County in Henan had 43% of its blood donors being infected with AIDS, while in the village of Wenlou, over 65% of its residents had contacted HIV.
HIV/AIDS activist Yan Lianke
Yan Lianke
Yan Lianke is a Chinese writer of novels and short stories based in Beijing. His work is highly satirical, which has resulted in some of his most renowned works being banned....
wrote the book The Dream of Ding Village in 2005 based on the incident.
See also
- HIV/AIDS in the People's Republic of China
- Love for Life
- Hu Jia (activist)Hu Jia (activist)Hu Jia is an activist and dissident in the People's Republic of China. His work has focused on the Chinese democracy movement, Chinese environmentalist movement, and HIV/AIDS in the People's Republic of China...
- Gao YaojieGao YaojieGao Yaojie is a Chinese gynecologist, academic, and AIDS activist in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China. Gao has been honored for her work by the United Nations and Western organizations, and has spent time under house arrest.-Biography:...
- Wan YanhaiWan YanhaiWan Yanhai is the best-known AIDS activist in China born 20 November 1963.His "frank and aggressive" approach toward AIDS have led to frequent run-ins with authorities and landed him in detention three times in the past 12 years. Wan, 43, is the director of the country's foremost AIDS-awareness...
- HIV/AIDS in YunnanHIV/AIDS in YunnanThe People's Republic of China's first AIDS case was identified in 1985 in a dying tourist. In 1989, the first indigenous cases were reported as an outbreak in 146 infected heroin users in Yunnan province, near China's southwest border....
- Zeng JinyanZeng JinyanZeng Jinyan , is a Chinese blogger and human rights activist. The wife of AIDS and environmental activist Hu Jia, Zeng became famous for a blog she had maintained throughout the disappearance of her husband, which was believed to be the working of China's secret police...
- Weiquan movementWeiquan movementThe Weiquan movement is a non-centralized group of lawyers, legal experts and intellectuals in the People's Republic of China who seek to protect and defend the civil rights of the citizenry through litigation and legal activism...
External links
- Bad blood behind China's crisis BY Calum MacLeod Monday, 25 June 2001
- 15 arrested in blood selling scandal By Zhang Feng (China Daily) Updated: 2005-04-14
- China blood test lapses fuel "hidden AIDS epidemic" By Ben Blanchard Feb 21, 2006
- China's Plasma Economy 05-02 16:04 Caijing Magazine
- Danger of AIDS hidden in a large number of plasma stations in Guizhou Nanfengchuang Magazine Yin Hongwei 2006-06-15
- Antiretroviral Therapy for Former Plasma Donors in China: Saving Lives When HIV Prevention Fails
- Blood debts Tens of thousands of lives devastated. Not a single official held to account