Shortage of life-saving heart drug

BEIJING - Experts have called for a national drug-control system after a nationwide deficit of a life-saving drug, which has lasted at least three months.

Doctors at a Beijing hospital said some specialized hospitals, which perform hundreds of cardiac operations every month, have been paralyzed by their lack of protamine sulfate, which is commonly administered after heart surgery to reverse the anticoagulant effects of heparin.

The earliest report of a shortage was in Hubei province on July 21. This was followed by reports of shortages in Guangdong, Shandong and Liaoning provinces.