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 for it and were given holidays.

Eight companies in the Minhang District declared recently that they would cancel compensation for blood donors. The declaration was like a stone thrown into a calm lake and embarrassed many enterprises who still maintain the compensation system to encourage blood donations.

"When we received the nine quotas of blood donation last year, I felt so surprised because in Taiwan, it is all from volunteers," said Ricky Lin from Shanghai Les Enfants Co Ltd, one of the eight companies.

Although the donors receive money and a holiday the staff were not willing to participate. So Lin decided not to enforce the demand. He held a party and invited the staff from Taiwan to attend and donate blood in a non-compulsory way. The result was that 27 of the staff donated blood at the party, much more than was required under the quota.

This year, Lin continued to hold a similar party in September and this time local staff also attended. About 30 donated blood. The compensation was not in money but in food and drinks.

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

Compulsion fear

Up to the present day, over 60 per cent of blood used in the city has been dependent on compulsory donations, not volunteers who receive no money or holidays.

Compulsory blood donations started in 1989 with the aim of meeting medical demands for blood. The city's compulsory blood donation regulations say that people donating blood can obtain compensation from the blood collection organizations. At first, the compensation ranged from 8 to 60 yuan (US$0.96 to 7.25).

Song Qi, an official with the Shanghai Blood Administrative Office, said: "But now, some well-run enterprises can give compensation as high as 1,000 yuan (US$121) and one or two week days off with the aim of encouraging and rewarding donors.

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

To some employees, especially older ones, blood donations are unpopular.

Sheng Chongming, a retired worker from a now-closed SOE, said most of her colleagues were somewhat unwilling 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). But thinking it would harm their health, not many people were willing. Some who had good relationships with factory leaders would avoid donation. 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.

Shortage 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 originally started around the world in 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 blood collection buses in March last year. 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 when compared with other cities in the country."

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

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

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

In Qingdao of North China's Shandong Province, one donation of 1,000 ml can guarantee the donor free blood up to the same amount for life. In Shenzhen of South China's Guangdong Province, the donor can have free blood lifelong without limit.

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 People's Congress that they adjust the regulation," Song said.

Among the current number of volunteers, almost half are people from other provinces now working in Shanghai who are described as "New Shanghainese". According to statistics held in the Blood Administrative Office, most are young and of high educational background.

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

"That was really a passionate scene," said Zhang Sanlin, a graduate student at the university. "I was on my way to the canteen, and saw an awe-inspiring spectacle right in front of it. Undergraduate students were just dismissed from their morning classes and massed quickly around the blood collection bus."

Hotlines for blood donations: 6219-1114, 6279-1110