Shanghai Children’s Medical Center kicked off the city’s first charity out-patient service every Thursday afternoon, when leading medical specialists will be available at the clinic for free.

The service must be reserved and the center will announce the shift of each medical specialist on its website and public WeChat account.

Patients can reserve the service by calling thehotlineon 38626161, extension 86100.

Top medical specialists are in great demand in clinical practice, and many patients have to wait for weeks, or even months, to reserve an appointment. Out-patient service fees for top medical specialists are usually several hundred yuan, a big expense for some patients.

Shanghai Children’s Medical Center introduced the practice to offer one more channel for patients to receive out-patient services from top specialists in order to reduce their medical burdens.

A man with an 8-year-old girl traveled all the way from Liaoning Province for Dr Chen Jing’s charity clinic at the centerthis afternoon. His daughter has suffered symptoms related with blood disease but has not been able to get a clear diagnosis for five years. The family had been trying to reserve an appointment with Dr Chen Jing for months.

“We were very excited after getting a reservation and went to Shanghai immediately,” said the father,surnamed Hu. “We have strong confidence in Dr Chen Jing and want to get a diagnosis for my daughter — the doctor is a leading specialist on children’s blood diseases in China.”

The patient was diagnozed as aplstic anemia in Dr Chen's clinic finallyandshe will arrange stem cell transplant for the girl.