TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's premier medical institution sought to differentiate its ethical organ transplant standards from those in China on Wednesday (April 16), amid growing regional scrutiny following a controversial case. The president of National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH, 台大醫院) defended the island's practices after popular Taiwanese entertainer Tank (呂建忠) received a rare heart-liver transplant across the Taiwan Strait.
Dr. Wu Ming-Shiang (吳明賢), the NTUH president, remarked Taiwan's regional dominance in transplant medicine, particularly for heart and kidney procedures. No incidents similar to the recent scandal in China have occurred here, according to Wu, who highlighted how the hospital's transplant team has extended its expertise throughout Southeast Asia, helping Vietnam and Indonesia establish their inaugural complex organ transplant programs.
The ethical divide widened when Dr. Chen Yih-shurng (陳益祥), who directs NTUH's transplant team, stressed the necessity of legitimate organ sources to prevent commercialization of human tissue. The controversy escalated after Taiwan's Deputy Health Minister Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) criticized a Chinese academic report describing a premature infant kidney donor who had low blood pressure but was not near death, questioning both the acquisition methods and death determination protocols. ★
