A 78-year-old woman came close to losing her home after she put up the property as collateral to help a friend's family secure a loan, local media reported Wednesday.

The case gained attention after a Shanghai Municipal People's Congress delegate publicized it on her popular local television program earlier this week. The program's host, Bai Wanqing, used the case to promote a policy idea to allow elderly people to entrust their personal assets to a government authority to prevent others from taking advantage of them.

The woman, surnamed Chen, co-signed a loan for 420,000 yuan ($67,452) on behalf of the parents of a longtime former piano student, according to a report in the Shanghai Evening Post. The student's mother, named Ren Xiaohong, borrowed the money in September 2010 from a private lender surnamed Yang so she could continue to operate her restaurant.

To secure the loan, Chen offered the property deed to her apartment in Putuo district as collateral. At the time, Ren and her husband promised to pay back the loan and return Chen's property deed in one year. The couple was unable to repay the loan, even after Yang gave them a three-month extension, the report said. Their relationship with Chen broke down after Yang threatened to sell the apartment if they didn't pay back the loan.

The Shanghai Evening Post reported that the couple promised to sell their own apartment to repay the debt and get Chen's deed back. However, the sale was frozen for reasons that weren't explained.

Chen told the story Sunday on Bai's TV program, after which it was picked up by local media. Microbloggers criticized Ren's family for taking advantage of Chen.

It remains unclear how much Chen knew about the terms of the loan or the couple's financial circumstances, but Bai said Ren should not have allowed an elderly woman to put her home at risk.

Bai said she intended to make a proposal at the local two sessions meetings to allow elderly people to voluntarily entrust their assets like property deeds to local police or neighborhood committees.

Bai said she reported Chen's case to the Putuo District Public Security Bureau, which asked Ren to repay the debt to Yang before other lenders and asked Yang to reduce the interest on the loan. She added that Chen will be able to stay in her apartment for the rest of her life and get her property deed returned.