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Bone Marrow Donation
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| (Translated by Lorina Cheng) |
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In 1993, Taiwan's Department
of Health asked Tzu Chi to establish a bone marrow data bank in
order to help patients who suffered from blood-related diseases.
Master Cheng Yen thought that if Tzu Chi rejected
this project, many patients would lose their lives and the level
of medical care in Taiwan would not improve. Moreover, society
would not be able to free itself from superstitions about bone
marrow donation. Therefore, the Master founded the Tzu Chi Marrow
Donor Registry.
The registry's slogan was "Saving a life
does not hurt the donor." Many volunteers worked hard to
educate the public to clear up common misconceptions, such as
that donating bone marrow could result in spinal cord injuries.
The campaign resulted in over 100,000 donor samples by 1996. Since
then, the registry has benefited many patients, both in Taiwan
and abroad. Overseas Chinese blood cancer patients have also found
matches in the data bank.
In 1995, the Tzu Chi USA Bone Marrow
Laboratory was founded. It was the first step in ex-panding Tzu
Chi's marrow donation program to the entire world.
