The Organ Procurement Association’s recent photography competition, titled “I want to donate my most prized possession,” drew a number of celebrities and other applicants whose works tried to creatively embrace the topic of organ donation.
The association’s goal for the competition was to help change common stereotypes about organ donation.
Celebrity blogger Hsiao Hung (宅女小紅) wrote that she would like to donate her “stomach and intestines, as they were quite strong and could withstand the assault of very spicy foods without causing stomachaches,” while basketball star Sam Ho (何守正) said he would like to donate his eyes because they had enabled him to see his world on the ball court.
Other participants said they wished to donate their lungs so others can “feel the happiness of being able to breathe easily,” while some wanted to donate their “kindness” to help others inspire more people to their lives bravely, with passion and with high morals.
Association secretary-general Wu Ying-lai (吳英萊) said while some of the organs mentioned were “concepts that could not be donated by law,” the spirit of knowing how to love oneself and loving life was in synch with the spirit of organ donation.
Government statistics show that 12,862 people have agreed this year to donate their organs after death, bringing the total number of committed donors to 255,000 nationwide.
However, too few people actually receive donated organs, with about 294 people receiving organs so far this year from 94 organ donors who died, Wu said.
Of those 294, 88 received kidney transplants, 42 received liver transplants, 122 received corneas, 35 got new hearts, 19 underwent lung transplants, six received a pancreas and four underwent small intestine transplants, Wu said.
The association’s transplant registry system lists 8,447 people waiting for a transplant, a minority of whom need multiple organ donations.
The longest list is for kidney transplants, with 6,242 people. There are 1,255 people on the liver transplant list, 741 awaiting cornea transplants and 172 who need a new heart, Wu said.
Kidney Medical Society analysis committee director Wu Kuan-tun (吳寬墩) said transplanted kidneys are good for at least seven years and would last another seven years with dialysis. People who receive a liver transplant have a higher survival rate than people whose liver ailments require them to undergo constant dialysis.
However, the waiting time for kidney transplants in Taiwan is too long for many people, especially those who are older, who often go abroad for a transplant and then rely on their National Health Insurance (NHI) for post-tranplant medication to reduce the chances of their bodies rejecting the transplanted organs, Wu Kuan-tun said.
Taiwan Organ Registry and Sharing Center chairman Lee Po-chang (李伯璋) said that about half of the people currently undergoing dialysis, who number about 70,000, should accept kidney transplants, adding that there was an improved rate survival rate for people with kidney ailments who receive a transplant — 90 percent.
However, just over 6,000 people have put themselves on the waiting list for a kidney, Lee said, adding that the government should relax laws to promote live donor transplants.
The Executive Yuan has said it would pass a draft amendment relaxing the restrictions on donors for live organ transplants.
Under current regulations, live donations are restricted to those coming from spouses or relatives within five times of removal. An amendment would allow people awaiting transplants to seek greater help from their families.
The Executive Yuan has said that easing the law would increase the number of live kidney transplants by 10 to 15 percent.
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