Five Chinese held for illegal blood trade

Herald Globe (IANS) Friday 10th February, 2012

Five people in Beijing have been charged with selling blood to patients who badly needed it for surgery, a court has said.

A district court in Beijing heard that the five accused would find blood sellers via the internet and tell them to pretend to be a friend or relative of the patient and helped them go through the necessary hospital procedures, the Shanghai Daily reported Friday.

The leader of the racket -- identified as Er Ge -- is still at large. The five accused acted as middlemen.

The leader would charge up to 2,000 yuan (over $300) from a patient, give the middlemen up to 50 yuan and pay the blood seller around 400 yuan, the accused told the court.