"Double-time transfer of unqualified medical devices and even medical waste to my country in the name of donations." A "ban order" by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has caused American foundations such as AGAPE and LDS to appear in the Chinese public eye.
Although the foundation representative claimed that he was not aware of the situation, "medical waste" appeared in Hubei, Beijing, Anhui, Inner * and other places in the form of donations.
It is a fact that medical waste is expensive to deal with in European and American countries, and the reporter learned that AGAPE imported US$30,000 "donated materials" from China, and the air freight cost is as high as US$400,000.
"We are working with the General Administration of Customs, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs to regulate the donation behavior of foreign donation agencies, and will seriously deal with relevant foreign donation agencies that violate our laws and regulations."
At a press conference held yesterday afternoon, Wang Xin, Director of the Inspection and Supervision Department of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, made the above statement. Previously, on November 4, an announcement from the bureau became a magnifying glass and a ban order for the "Donation of the United States" incident.
The announcement, labeled "No. 159 of 2005", stated that in view of the fact that the AGAPE Foundation of the United States "transfers unqualified medical devices, even medical waste to my country in the name of donations," it has stopped its export of medical devices to China from the date of publication.
On November 4, a batch of donations from the LDS Foundation of the United States were divided into three containers from Tianjin Port (market - message), and then allocated to Beijing, Anhui and other places by the China Charity Federation.
As of November 11, the comprehensive customs and quality inspection department reported that "problem donations" from the United States have occurred in five provinces and cities, Hubei, Anhui, Beijing, Inner * and Hunan.
In mid-November, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine informed the US Embassy in China, and the latter agreed to launch an investigation into this in accordance with the law.
At yesterday's press conference, CCTV's "Weekly Quality Report" reporter said that the column team captured the scene of "problem donations" piled up in the hospitals in some hospitals in Hunan and Hubei. Wang Xin said that they can only guarantee that the two large number of "problem donations" investigated and dealt with this year have not flowed into the public.
While seriously investigating and punishing foreign donation institutions in accordance with the law, the quality inspection and civil affairs departments will work together to strengthen the management of domestic donated private institutions. "We hope to take this opportunity to fill the gap in overseas donation laws." After the meeting, Wang Xin said in an interview with a reporter from the Beijing News.
Disaster in Wuhan
On September 6, Yaxin Hospital and Hubei Inspection and Quarantine Bureau conducted routine inspections on two batches of donated materials that had arrived here airlifted.
Among the more than 10 members who arrived at the scene, in addition to the quality inspection staff, there were also representatives from the United States AGAPE Foundation, Wuhan Charity Association and Wuhan Yaxin Hospital.
These two batches of medical supplies were donated by the AGAPE Foundation in the United States to the Wuhan Charity Association. They are worth US$29,422, with a total of 138,647 pieces and 548 boxes, mainly cardiac surgical kits, syringes, reagents, wheelchairs, etc. According to two documents signed by the donors on April 16 and June 13, 2005, both batches of supplies were provided to Yaxin Hospital.
The on-site inspection results were unexpected. According to the footage taken by Hubei TV, most wheelchairs are incomplete, and some medicines have expired by November 2004.
The results reported by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine: The first batch of donated medical devices arrived at 161 cartons, most of the products had expired before June 2005 (the date of arrival); the second batch had a total of 387 cartons, and most of the products had expired between 1990 and 2004, and a large number of disposable syringes were naked in the box, and reagents and unknown liquids were flowing out, causing most of the products to become moldy and contaminated. Wheelchairs, test chambers and some disposable items were second-hand waste products.
The Hubei Inspection and Quarantine Bureau isolated and sealed the goods on the spot, and also took samples and sent them to a medical university in Wuhan for further identification. The result of the latter is that some of the samples are used and seriously contaminated medical supplies, and if they are reused, they will be unlimited. If destroyed, it will also cause environmental pollution.
"When we saw these medical supplies, we refused to accept them on the spot." A person from the Wuhan Charity Federation introduced that according to the contract between the donors, "the medical consumables donated by the A GAPE Foundation in the United States must comply with the China "Commodity Inspection Law". If the inspection fails, all the consequences will be borne by the A GAPE Foundation (Tennessee, USA)."
Feng Zhuoqi, a representative of the A GAPE Foundation who appeared at the inspection site, claimed that he was not aware of this.
In mid-October, also in Wuhan, local customs revealed another "donation of the United States issue". This is considered the largest "foreign medical waste" seized by Wuhan Customs so far, weighing about 10 tons and worth more than 360,000 US dollars. It is assigned to the Hubei Charity Association by the China Charity Federation, and the provider is the LDS Foundation of the United States (LDSCharities).