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.

The city's blood bank called for more donations of blood platelet, which is typically in high demand in such incidents. The commission also was transferring blood donations from neighboring areas to meet demand.

A State-level chemical accident response team of 217 soldiers and officers from the Beijing military area command was among those dispatched to the site. The team provides medical emergency support for chemical-related disasters.

The commission also sent an initial team of seven top medics specializing in intensive care, surgery, burns and broken bones to Tianjin from Beijing, an online notice said. It also has been collecting drugs and medical equipment needed at the northern port city.

In neighboring Beijing, the municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning said it had sent 28 doctors to assist with medical relief. The doctors were from top hospitals, including Peking Union Medical College Hospital, and from different departments. including specialists in treating burns and psychological problems.

Nine Tianjin hospitals receiving the injured have reported running short of supplies, including beds, respiratory machines and CT machines for body scans.

TEDA Hospital, which is 3 km from the blast site, was crowded with injured people. "The more severely injured are firefighters," Li Qing, an internal medicine specialist, told Beijing News.

"Some were totally disfigured and we could only tell their identity by the firefighter suits," Li said.

The large patient volume strained the hospital's resources. Medics and equipment were running short, he said.

Contact the writers through shanjuan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 08/14/2015 page2)