LHASA, July 28 (Xinhua) -- China's highest blood donation station has opened in Ali Prefecture, which has an average altitude of 4,500 meters, located in Tibet Autonomous Region.

The station will alleviate the blood shortage in the region and improve local medical conditions, local health authorities said on Tuesday.

According to Basang Yangzom, the head of the health bureau of Ali Prefecture, Shaanxi Province helped build the blood station with a total investment of more than 550,000 yuan (88,600 U.S.dollars).

Previously, only one of the 54 medical institutions in the prefecture, Renmin Hospital, was able to collect blood. Most of the donors were medical workers at the hospital and relatives of patients. The prefecture also faced difficulties in blood storage due to outdated techniques.

To solve the blood shortage, local government signed an agreement with Shaanxi Province in 2011 to build the donation station. Staff from Shaanxi provincial blood center provided free training to medical workers in Ali.

The new blood station is important for improving local medical conditions, Basang Yangzom said.