Mutual Benefit Helping Others and Oneself 

New Approaches Released! Donate Organs to Leave Loved Ones Honor and Hope 

“My heart is full of gratitude and joy to be able to promote the new measures successfully!” said Chairman Po-Chang Lee of the Taiwan Organ Registry and Sharing Center. Chairman Lee is also the superintendent of Tainan Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare, and Professor of Surgery at the College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University. According to the Human Organ Transplant Allocation and Management Measures, to be implemented by the Ministry of Health and Welfare on October 1, in the future, not only can organ donations help other families, but at the same time they can also protect one’s own family. If the spouses or third-degree blood relatives of donors are waiting for organ transplants in the future, they will receive priority. 

The World’s First Such Program A New Policy for Mutual Benefit 

Chairman Lee, who promoted this measure single-handedly, stated that he is extremely thankful to the Ministry of Health and Welfare for its full support, which allowed this amendment to be passed successfully. This new transplantation policy shows that organ transplantations in Taiwan are patient-centered, balancing both ethics and the law. The policy will allow us to become the world’s first country to include “measures to benefit the relatives of donors” as conditions for organ transplantation. This is a major, concrete milestone for the development of organ donation and transplantation in Taiwan. 


Preliminary estimates indicate that more than 90 relatives of organ donors will benefit from the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s new policy. Patients who were originally waiting for years to receive organ donations will be moved up on the list immediately because they have relatives who have donated organs. 


With these measures, the good deeds of organ donors will not only be an honor for their relatives, but they will also grant relatives powerful protection. As stated by Chairman Lee, “Besides property, after you pass away, you can leave your family health protection!” The revised regulations make the concept of “helping others and oneself” through organ donation more concrete. They should increase the willingness to donate organs in the future. 

Responding to Public Sentiment Giving to Receive 

Organ donation is common in Europe and North America, to the point that numerous countries believe that one’s body is public property after death. Either organs are donated or bodies are donated for use as cadavers. However, in Taiwan, only approximately 200 people donate organs each year. The number of people waiting for organs is approximately 40 to 175 times greater than this. Therefore, legislation is necessary to allow the public to feel that organ donation is not only giving something up. Contributing to others can provide protection for one’s family. 

The wait for organ donations in Taiwan has always involved registration and allocation on a fair and just platform. Ordering has been based on disease severity, tissue antigen pairing, and regional factors. With being on the waiting list for organs and meeting medical considerations as prerequisites, if organ donors have family members waiting for organs at the time of their donations, their donations can be designated for fifth-degree relatives and spouses. However, this is restricted to the time of donation. For example, if a nephew dies in a car accident, the family can decide to donate his kidneys to an uncle undergoing dialysis. If other relatives are waiting for transplantations in the future, they do not gain this benefit. In spite of this ability to designate donations, in the vast majority of situations, donors do not have family members currently waiting for organ transplantations. In addition, the family members of donors sometimes fall ill and require organs only after the donations. Nevertheless, they must wait just like everyone else at that point. After the new legislation is implemented, as long as information to prove that relatives have donated organs is presented to a hospital to be recorded, patients can move immediately to the front of the line for organ donations after October 1. 


The Ministry of Health and Welfare indicated that the newly developed allocation measures will begin to be implemented at midnight on October 1. Retroactive methods will be applied. If those currently waiting for organ transplantations comply with these qualifications, they should go to the hospitals at which they are registered for transplantation to submit their applications to the Taiwan Organ Registry and Sharing Center. Their spots on the waiting list will be moved beginning from October 1. 

According to statistics on the families on 122 successful donors in 2013 from the Taiwan Organ Registry and Sharing Center, the relatives of the donors ranked the benefits of this decision as follows: “helping others” 35%, “making relatives feel that the donor is still in this world” 27%, and “conforming to the donor’s last wishes” 12%. Beginning with these new measures, the decision to donate organs will be given a new meaning: organ donation not only helps others, but it also helps one’s family, giving them priceless hope! 


The Willingness to Give Provides Opportunities for Advancement 

More than five years ago, the youngest son of Grandmother Zhao suddenly died from a brain hemorrhage. This sudden bad news deeply affected Grandmother Zhao, who had been a Buddhist for numerous years. She thought to herself, Buddha taught us that we must show compassion and kindness. When her husband was hospitalized in the past, she saw a number of patients who passed away because they could not receive organs in time. This being the case, she thought it would be better to save them. She decided to donate all of her son’s usable organs. The other members of the family respected Grandmother Zhao’s opinion. Therefore, her son’s organs were donated to save numerous people. Three years later, Grandmother Zhao’s oldest son began dialysis because of kidney failure. The dialysis days are extremely difficult, with his physical functions steadily deteriorating. He is hospitalized frequently, worrying Grandmother Zhao. Having learned that this new policy may allow her son to receive an organ more quickly, Grandmother Zhao said, “I did not have any ulterior motives when I donated my youngest son’s organs. I was only thinking of helping others, and I never imagined that this would now provide the chance to help my own family. Everyone hopes that their own families will be safe and healthy. However, my oldest son has had kidney failure and is losing his health. If we can have the opportunity to receive an organ transplantation, this would be extremely encouraging for us!” 



In the future, organ donation will not be merely spreading love throughout humanity or following the last wishes of relatives. It will also provide priceless gifts and the hope of rebirth to family members, allowing us to respond together that “organ donation is the heritage of life.” Through organ donation, you and I both benefit! 

Lasting Bonds Between Chengsheng Broadcasting, Kaohsiung Station, and Organ Donation 

A college teacher of Ya-Yan Chen and Ting-Yu Liu of Chengsheng Broadcasting, Kaohsiung Station, is currently in urgent need of an organ donation to complete a life-saving heart surgery for heart disease. They gained a deep understanding of their teacher’s pain and helplessness while also knowing that because the atmosphere for organ donation is currently poor and the people still generally wish to preserve the integrity of dead bodies, a number of people waiting for life-saving organ donations unfortunately die because they cannot wait long enough. Ya-Yan Chen and Ting-Yu Liu worked together to create a broadcast advertisement in favor of organ donation and broadcast it for free on Chengsheng Broadcasting, Kaohsiung Station. They were also willing to authorize the Taiwan Organ Registry and Sharing Center to use the advertisement without charge. During this press conference, a special certificate of appreciation was presented to thank this company for its support.