Blood donations pour in for injured

The public rolled up their sleeves to donate blood for those injured by the massive blasts in Tianjin as the country's health authorities and medical institutions geared up on Thursday to provide medical teams and supplies.

The National Health and Family Planning Commission, the nation's top health authority, said in an online notice that it was coordinating resources, both medics and equipment, to ensure timely and quality medical relief for the hundreds injured in the explosion.

At each of the 15 blood donation outlets in Tianjin, people waited in lines to donate blood, starting at 2:30 am, long before they opened. Hundreds more had registered to donate blood as of Thursday afternoon. The city's blood center urged volunteers to make appointments before arriving.