A death-row inmate who has asked to donate his kidney to his seriously ill sister could soon be given the green light by the Agency of Corrections to have the organ removed.
Cheng Chin-wen (鄭金文), 48, filed a petition three months ago to serve as a living-organ donor for his sister, who suffers from a life-threatening condition and receives kidney dialysis daily.
If approved, it would be the nation’s first case of an incarcerated living-organ donor. The Taipei Detention Center, where Cheng is currently jailed, said the agency was leaning toward approving Cheng’s request.
Since Cheng’s sister is receiving treatment in Changhua County, which is far from the prison, the agency has suggested that the transplant could be conducted at Far Eastern Memorial Hospital in New Taipei City (新北市), under the supervision of prison guards.
Cheng was sentenced to death in June for murdering two people to whom he owed money to. He dumped their bodies near a stretch of coastline.
Deputy Minister of Justice Chen Shou-huang (陳守煌) said Minister of Justice Tseng Yung-fu (曾勇夫) asked the corrections agency early on Monday to consider the details of the case, adding that the possibility “should not be ruled against simply because it is unprecedented.”
The agency responded that it had agreed to allow Cheng to apply to be a living-organ donor on humanitarian grounds and added that the operation could proceed after it and the Ministry of Justice approve it.
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