Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/10/19
By: Chen Wei-ting and Elizabeth Hsu
Taipei, Oct. 19 (CNA) Taiwan’s health authorities publicized new regulations Friday that
allow the exchange of kidney donations between two families of patients needing kidney transplants to increase the chances of such patients finding the organ they need.
Under the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s (MOHW’s) new guidelines, people who are willing to donate a kidney to a family member suffering from kidney failure but whose kidney is not a match can have their information posted on the Taiwan Organ Registry and Sharing Center to see if mutual matches with other families can be arranged.
If there are two families, each with a donor whose kidney is a match for a patient in the other family, transplants can proceed with MOHW approval after two rounds of reviews by the medical ethics committees of the hospitals involved, according to the guidelines.
Shih Chung-liang (石崇良), head of the MOHW’s Department of Medical Affairs, described the new system as “exchanging one kidney for another.” [FULL STORY]