SHANGHAI, May 27 (Xinhua) -- China's Fosun Group has recently received gratitude from Porto, Portugal, for its donated detection kits.

A total of 5,000 nucleic acid detection kits donated by Fosun Foundation, together with a batch of other medical supplies offered by Shanghai were sent to Porto in late March.

The donated detection kits were mainly used to conduct nucleic acid tests for elderly people and employees in Porto's nursing homes according to feedback from Portugal, said Yang Zhijun, deputy general manager of Shanghai Fosun Long March Medical Science Co., Ltd, the developer of the detection kits.

Thanks to the donation from Fosun Foundation, Porto's testing program was made possible without consuming detection kits of Portuguese National Health Service (SNS), at a time when detection kits were scarce, according to an article published on a website produced by the Porto City Council.

The detection kits have obtained the medical device registration certificate issued by China's National Medical Products Administration and the European CE certification, Yang said.

Besides the aforementioned 5,000 nucleic acid detection kits, the Shanghai-based company also donated 20,000 more detection kits to Portugal at the end of March.

A laboratory diagnosing COVID-19 patients at Polytechnic Institute of Braganca (IPB), recognized the effectiveness of Fosun's detection kits. There are plans to use these detection kits in nucleic acid tests for children, and in retirement communities and schools, according to the laboratory's email to Fosun's office in Lisbon.

"We are facing testing times that demand from individuals, governments, civil society and the private sector accrued responsibility, commitment and solidarity to deal with a crisis that is heavily impacting our societies and health care systems," according to a letter of appreciation sent from the Portuguese side to Fosun.

The letter expressed gratitude for Fosun's provision of personal protective equipment and detection kits for Portuguese medical workers.