Organ Donation Decision in Taiwan: Challenging and Overcoming with 3D Printing

Asia is the most populous area, but organ donation is lower than others. According to the International Registry for Organ Donation and Transplantation (IORDaT), the top 2 deceased organ donation rates (per million population, pmp) in 2022 are the Spain (46.03 pmp), and United States (44.5 pmp) . In the other hand, according to statistics from the Taiwan Organ Registry and Sharing Center, more than 10,000 people were on the transplant waiting list, but the organ donation rate was only 4.43 pmp in Taiwan .

Confucianism and religious traditions are the factors influencing the decision-making process of organ donation in Eastern countries, including the concept of the “complete corpse” after death. Although there are two hospitals have mentioned using 3D-printed organs for specific cases to decrease the concern of “complete corpse”, it is still not a standard procedure. As a result, the purpose of the study is to check the 3D-printed organs can fulfill the “complete corpse” concept and increase the willing to do the organ donation.