A Taiwanese woman who gave birth prematurely while visiting Okinawa and had to pay a medical bill of NT$1.68 million (US$55,497) received double that amount in donations from overseas Taiwanese in Okinawa and other donors.
An Okinawan newspaper, Ryokyu Shimpo, last week reported that a 20-year-old Taiwanese in her seventh month of pregnancy was on a four-day visit to the Japanese island with her 23-year-old husband, when she unexpectedly gave birth on March 30. The baby weighed only 884g.
The baby was born in Okinawa Kyodo Hospital and transferred to Okinawa Prefectural Nanbu Medical Center & Children’s Medical Center, the only healthcare facility on the island that treats premature infants weighing less than 1,500g, the report said.
However, as the baby received special treatment, the couple faced a bill of up to ¥6 million (US$54,459), which they could not afford and is not covered by their overseas travel insurance.
The Okinawa New Overseas Chinese Association, established by Taiwanese living in Okinawa, initiated a fundraiser for the couple by donating ¥1 million, and advertised for more donations.
The association said it received donations of more than ¥12 million by Friday evening from people throughout Japan and Taiwan, including a man in Tokyo who donated ¥5 million.
The association said it would donate the rest of the funds to the Okinawan government for emergency medical fees needed by overseas travelers.
The baby is expected to be released from the hospital on May 17, the association said.
After the report was translated into Chinese last week, many Taiwanese netizens criticized the couple for traveling oversea during the last months of pregnancy.
Renowned obstetrician Su Yi-ning (蘇怡寧) also responded to the story on Facebook, saying premature birth cannot be completely prevented.
Japan has reliable and quality medical services, so visiting during pregnancy is not a big problem, but people should consider if they could afford the potential expenses, Su said, adding that medical care in Taiwan is so affordable that many people forget the risk and cost when they travel overseas during pregnancy.
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