GUANGZHOU, China, March 18 (UPI) -- The suspension of a procedure for abandoning unwanted infants in Guangzhou, China, has called attention to the country's issues with abandoned children.
The city has stopped use of a method for a parent to safely and anonymously give up an infant, called a "baby hatch," because the operator, Guangzhou City Welfare Center, could not handle the number of babies, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported Tuesday.
Using a "baby hatch," a person can bring a baby to the facility, which is equipped with an incubator, a bed and an air conditioner. The baby is placed inside and an alarm button is activated. The person then leaves and welfare officials retrieve the baby within 10 minutes.
The first facility was established in 2011. China now has 25 such facilities. Guangzhou's is the first to close after receiving 262 babies since it opened in January, Xinhua said. It said all the babies received in Guangzhou suffer from illnesses including cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and congenital heart disease.
Officials cite the lack of space, quarantine facilities and staff available to care for the babies.
"Parents bring their ill babies to the big cities in hopes of having them cured, but many just end up abandoning them," said Xu Jiu, director of the Guangzhou center.
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