And now they want your blood!

Hey all you laowai's out there — yes, you of the caucasoid and negroid variety (and for the record, none of those terms are derogatory) — China wants your blood! Earlier this year, we told you that Shanghai was looking for foreign blood, but this time it's Beijing, and it's for the Olympics! From the Guardian Unlimited:

China's capital on Wednesday urged residents with a blood type rare among Chinese people but common among Caucasians and many Africans to donate blood as it seeks to stockpile reserves for the 2008 Olympic Games.

Roughly 15 percent of Caucasians and 10 percent of black Africans -- and so a large number of visitors due to attend the Games -- have Rh negative blood, with the rest Rh positive.

But only 0.3 percent of China's dominant Han ethnic group are Rh negative, creating a headache for city Red Cross officials seeking to set aside 800 sachets each with 200 millilitres of the blood for Games medical needs, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Photo from Aaron Edwards