China's rising demand for health care is exposing a chronic shortage of an essential commodity: blood.
With hospital blood supplies tight, desperate patients are turning to agents known as "blood heads," who sell certificates that give patients access to state blood banks, creating a black market at the heart of the health care system.
"To us patients, buying blood solves our problems," said Hong, a retired Shanghai civil servant who suffers from myelodysplastic syndrome, a debilitating blood condition. "If there were no blood heads, what would I do?"