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| - False: China’s blood product does not account for 80% of global export market
Several social media posts in Chinese claimed that China dominates the world’s blood exports on various platforms, including X and Zhihu.
A Jan. 23 post on X, for example, said China accounted for “80% of global blood exports” and commented, “Years of calling for blood donation. [It] turns out [the blood] was exported for money.”
Another popular X post claimed that “China is the largest exporter of blood in the world” and questioned whether this exported blood came from voluntary, non-remunerated donors.
The same post also shared a screenshot of Baidu’s search results showing that China exported 177.99 tons of blood products in 2021, according to China’s General Administration of Customs.
However, Annie Lab found these claims to be false. Trade data from the International Trade Center shows the amount of China’s exported blood products has been less than 10%.
In our investigation, we also learned that the regulations in China do not allow exporting or importing human blood collected through blood donation stations.
“Blood” and “Blood product”
Many posts use the terms “blood” and “blood products” interchangeably, but they are different.
A blood product, according to the World Health Organization, consists of any therapeutic substance derived from human blood, including whole blood and other blood components for transfusion.
Medicinal products derived from human plasma collected from donated blood can be classified as blood products. Meanwhile, “blood” as a commodity could include animal blood used for processed food.
For example, the quantity of blood products exported from China in 2021 stands at around 177,988 kilograms (about 177.99 tons), according to China’s General Administration of Customs. It is the number that appeared in the Baidu screenshot posted on X.
However, this data for commodity code 30029090 includes both human and animal blood, as well as other toxins and cultured micro-organisms exported from China.
China’s blood product export statistics
We first looked at China’s share in global blood and blood product export in terms of its monetary value.
The latest data from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce released in September 2021 shows China’s exports in 2020 made up 1.6% of the global share, which was the highest in three years between 2018 and 2020.
We then looked at the original source of this data compiled by the International Trade Centre, a multilateral agency with a joint mandate with the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. The original data from ITC shows a consistent trend with the export figures found in the Chinese report.
Blood-related products in the ITC data include edible blood, prepared or preserved blood for food, and blood for medical use. The product code 3002 represents a series of blood products, including not just human blood but also animal blood, blood fractions, vaccines and other immunology products.
According to ITC’s 2022 report, in this category China represented 3% of the world exports, ranked 9th among all countries.
The ITC data also offers a breakdown of each type of blood product, but China’s share reached nowhere near 80% in any of them in 2022. In fact, China’s exported value under the product code 3002 from 2018 to 2022 ranged between 0.36% to 7.57% only.
Regulations on blood donation in China
Many social media posts and articles implied the blood donated in China has been misused for profit. However, we learned that under the current rules, donated human blood can only be used for clinical purposes domestically.
A law firm called Zhong Lun described the regulation of blood donation and blood product systems in China as a “dual-track system” on its website.
According to the article, Management Measures for Blood Stations regulate voluntary blood donation, and Management Measures for Plasma Apheresis Stations regulate blood plasma collection for blood products in the country.
Clinical institutions receiving blood donations are prohibited from supplying plasma to companies manufacturing blood products.
In an interview related to the internet claims, the Chief of Publicity of Tianjin Blood Center told the People’s Daily that voluntary blood donors are asked to give their whole blood, which will be used only in medical institutions for clinical purposes.
In contrast, plasma donors give their plasma to manufacturers selling blood products to patients through medical institutions and pharmacies.
The two collection methods and donation stations are regulated differently, with the former being set up by the government and the latter by commercial companies. They are subjected to different laws.
Both donation systems are voluntary and non-remunerated, although some plasma collecting stations might provide some compensation to donors for lost working hours or as travelling allowances.
Article 11 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Blood Donation proclaims that donated blood shall only be used for clinical purposes and not for sale. A blood donor centre or medical institution may not sell donated blood to any blood plasma stations or blood product manufacturers.[Note: This story has been updated to include the data from China’s General Administration of Customs]
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