Lack of medication hampers treatment of patients with rare diseases

High cost of drugs and serious long-term problems often result in large numbers falling into poverty, according to experts. Wang Xiaodong reports.

For the past three years, Liang Fen has set out on the 1,600-kilometer rail journey from Hengyang, Hunan province, to Beijing every quarter to pick up an icebox from a black market dealer.

Once the deal is concluded, she quickly returns home with the box, which contains a precious drug that means she will not have to worry about her 5-year-old son for the next three months.