A man's marrow donation request was rejected by medical institutions in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, after they told him this year's "marrow collection assignment" had been fulfilled, and the service will reopen again in March 2014, Xi'an-based Hua Shang News reported.

The China Marrow Donor Program, a data bank of Chinese hematopoietic stem cell donors, responded via its official Sina Weibo account that a time limit is set on marrow donations because each blood test for a donor costs 500 yuan ($82) and government funds are limited.