Guangzhou's blood bank center had called for more donors to replenish supplies, the Information Times reported Monday.
   
The period following the Spring Festival was a slack season for blood donations, the center said.
   
Only about 2,500 people donated blood immediately after the Spring Festival, while more than 3,200 people gave blood during the seven-day holiday, the center said.
   
The cold weather and drizzle in recent days had kept people inside, it said.
   
A Guangzhou man surnamed Li found he was unable to obtain a regular blood transfusion of 200 millimeters of Type O blood in a Guangzhou hospital to treat his chronic uremia. The hospital told him there was only enough blood for emergencies.
   
The blood center said Li's only solution was to find a family member or a friend to volunteer. As allowed by related rules, a donor could designate a beneficiary of the donation and the transfusion would be free, the center said.

(Shenzhen Daily March 1, 2005)