China is considering lifting the age cap on blood donors from 18 to 55 to 17 to 60 years old, the Yangtze Evening News, a Jiangsu-based newspaper?reported Tuesday.

The paper said Jiangsu province is facing severe challenges in collecting enough blood for medical use.

Donations of blood plasma fell dramatically this year after two cases shocked donors. A Ningbo college student was blinded when he passed out and fell onto a chair back after giving blood and the lavish lifestyle of a woman linked to the Red Cross of China was exposed on the Internet.

Sun Jun, head of theJiangsublood center, said the National People's Congress will study the Law of Blood Donation, which has been running for 13 years, and may expand the age limit to donors, the report said.