Several hundred illegal blood banks arose in Henan Province in the mid-90’s.Their aggressive purchase of farmers’ blood whipped up a sales frenzy in the mid-plains. Blood (800 c.c.) was drawn from each seller. Six to eight sellers’ blood were mixed and centrifuged together to separate plasma. The remaining red blood cells were re-infused into the sellers. Each time the seller gets forty renmenbi, a significant sum to the farmers. The extremely substandard blood donation and health technique led to widespread tragedy. Between 500, 000 to 700,000 blood sellers were infected by the AIDS virus. Of the 4,000 people in 900 families in Houyang village, Shangcai county in Henan, 90% of the 16 to 55 year-old farmers had sold their blood in those years. Among them 90% are HIV-positive. Over 400 people manifest full-blown AIDS. In the year of 2001 over 150 youth died of AIDS. All the villagers had sold their belongings to seek a cure, even the trees in front of and behind their houses. In that year, not one family was debt-free, not one family could afford the expensive medicines, not even those for fever or diarrhea.

Most AIDS-deaths plagued the young and strong, leaving orphan in every home.According to survey, there are over 100 orphans in the village, many without means. Those who should be in school were not.

The whole village is shrouded mercilessly by AIDS. Poverty and ignorancebrought upon the farmers’ heads more than death…

When I left the village, the patients pleadings, “Save me, save me”resounded in my head and rang endlessly. Her two boys, a daughter-in-law, a granddaughter all died from AIDS. Grief overcame the 78-year old

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