IN BRIEF (Page 13)

Blood needed, book online

Blood donors can now make appointments to give blood by calling 400-60-12320 or visiting www.brcbc.org, the Beijing Red Cross Blood Center said on Saturday. The city currently has only 1,400 liters of blood in reserve, roughly half the normal level. Although the blood center sent text messages to some citizens calling for blood donations, only 20 percent responded to the messages, the center said. Beijing scrapped its compulsory blood donation this month, which mainly focused on organizations, and replaced it with voluntary donations.

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