The authorities in Shanghai have arrested a group of self-styled doctors who carried out “bloodletting therapy” claiming it would remove “evil energy” from people.
Footage of three people performing the therapy on a man, which was released by Shanghai TV recently, shocked social media.
The video shows that three self-styled doctors insert a long needle into a man’s arm before letting the blood flow out along the needle, forming a small pool of blood on the floor.
They reassured the man that the therapy would only release about 100ml of his blood.
They also shared with him the “common sense” that “a healthy person’s blood will not flow out from the needle”, to convince him that “evil energy” had been removed from his body.
The so-called doctors did not wear medical gloves or masks. Cotton balls and stained gauze they used were also thrown randomly on the floor.
The person who filmed the video allegedly reported the clinic to the local disease control and health supervision authorities.
Enforcement officers went to the clinic and took action against the unlicensed practitioners and their illegal medical equipment.
The self-proclaimed clinic did not have a license.
One of the practitioners, a repeat offender, was sent to the police. The other two were given administrative penalties.
According to the law, those who illegally engage in medical practice can face a fine of up to 100,000 yuan (US$14,000). In serious cases, they can face jail.
“Is bloodletting therapy not an outdated, dark method used before modern medicine developed?” one online observer said.
“If they really believe letting out blood is good for health, they should have just donated their blood,” said another.
“It is more ignorant to trust unlicensed clinics than trusting bloodletting therapy,” said a third.
Bloodletting therapy remains controversial.
It was documented as a treatment method in ancient Chinese medical texts, such as The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine, that was mainly compiled between the 4th century BC and 3rd century AD.
Unlike the bloodletting therapy in ancient Western medicine, which released large blood volumes from a patient’s body and was later proved to be a dangerous practice, the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) version targeted acupoints and used needles to release minimum volumes.
Some believe that the TCM version can detox the body and improve blood circulation; others argue that it is an outdated pseudoscience. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
