By Shan Juan (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-05-14 07:49

Ten thousand units of blood and plasma have been transferred from hospitals in Beijing Hebei, Shanxi and Shandong provinces to Sichuan, to help the aid effort, the Ministry of Health said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a press conference in the capital, ministry spokesman Mao Qun'an also urged the public to donate blood to meet the growing demand.

On Monday, shortly after the earthquake struck in Sichuan, Health Minister Chen Zhu vowed the ministry would provide an "all-out" relief and rescue effort in the region.

A disaster relief working committee led by Chen is now coordinating medical efforts across the country.

Mao said: "As long as there is a requirement for medical personnel from the State Council-led disaster relief headquarters, which is directing the rescue work, we will provide them."

The health ministry has put together a team of more than 1,000 doctors, nurses and specialists in post-disaster epidemic prevention, Mao said.

"They are ready to leave for the front at any time, pending instructions from the disaster relief headquarters," he said.

The first 200 members of the team, from Beijing and Tanjin, left the capital yesterday for Wenchuan county - the earthquake's epicenter, he said.

"During this first phase of the rescue work, the provision of timely and sufficient medical assistance to the injured is the team's top priority," Mao said.

During the second phase, the focus will be switched to preventing epidemics from breaking out in the affected areas, he said.

A special task force of disease prevention experts will be dispatched to the most-prone areas in the coming days to coordinate the work, Mao said.

About 500 medical workers, mostly from inside Sichuan province and the neighboring Chongqing municipality, are already working in disaster areas, he said.