Desperate Cash Infusions Driving Blood Trade

The tumor was growing, and the family of cancer patient Xia Jianqing was growing desperate.

Doctors at a military hospital in Beijing had warned Xia's family that he would die without the blood needed for a lifesaving operation. But the hospital had no blood to spare, forcing the family out of desperation to shop for blood on the street.

The patient's sister, Xia Guoqing, said they turned to one of the many criminals who roam Beijing hospitals, the local Red Cross of China Blood Center and even city streets offering bags of blood.