Donations to China's Red Cross up 18 pct in 2018

BEIJING, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) received a total of 3.94 billion yuan (581 million U.S. dollars) in donations in 2018, up 18 percent year on year, figures unveiled by the RCSC have shown.

Eighty-nine percent, or 3.49 billion yuan, was spent on humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, first aid, health education, donations of Hematopoietic stem cells and human organs, and blood donation public awareness campaigns, according to an RCSC statement.

The RCSC said a total of 276 donors were awarded a medal for their "great contributions" to the organization's cause in 2018.