Donated medicine goes to waste

The discovery of donated medical supplies that had gone to waste has prompted a call for strengthened supervision of donations.

The donated medical supplies, including drugs, were found expired in northern Beijing's Xiaotangshan Hospital, which had been designated to treat SARS patients in 2003 when the donated medical supplies arrived, China Economic Weekly reported yesterday.

"It's a great pity the medicines neither played a role during the SARS outbreak, nor were used afterward. It caused a lot of unnecessary waste and loss," an anonymous official with Beijing Charity Association was quoted as saying.