Plasma Economy in China
The Plasma Economy (血浆经济, 1991–1995) was a commercial blood plasma campaign backed by local officials and private collectors in Henan Province. Villagers, living in deep poverty, were offered money in exchange for blood plasma. To maximize profit, collectors pooled the extracted red blood cells of donors with the same blood type and reinjected them back into the villagers after harvesting the plasma. Combined with the reuse of unsterilized needles, this practice led to a catastrophic outbreak. By the early 2000s, it was estimated that over a million people had contracted HIV/AIDS in Henan Province alone.
“AIDS Village in Henan”
Photographer Lu Guang, an independent Chinese photojournalist and recipient of the prestigious W. Eugene Smith Grant and World Press Photo awards, focused his lens on the devastating human toll of China’s rapid modernization.
First visiting the affected areas in Henan in November 2000, Lu Guang spent over two years documenting the crisis. His groundbreaking photographic project “AIDS Village in Henan” exposed the tragic reality of communities like Wenlou. Driven by extreme poverty, villagers had sold their blood to support their families, only to contract HIV through contaminated equipment and infected red cell re-infusions. In Wenlou alone, out of a population of 3,000, 678 people contracted the virus and hundreds perished.
In 2004, Lu Guang was awarded 1st Prize in the Daily Life category at the World Press Photo Contest for his 12-image series “AIDS Village in Henan”. His work brought international attention and media pressure to a crisis long ignored by authorities, forcing a response to the plight of rural HIV sufferers.
By 2017, conditions in Wenlou had significantly changed due to government-provided antiretroviral treatment programs. The mortality rate aligned closer to the national average, and no new HIV infections from blood selling have been reported since 2004.
Documenting Henan’s Blood Crisis: The Photo Series
Source: CinaOggi, People.com
Topics: henan blood scandal, china aids, blood selling in china,HIV China,hiv aids china, Plasma Economy
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