Page 109 - Tzu Chi Q&A_First Edition

Bone Marrow Donation

7-1

Why did Tzu Chi set up a bone marrow registry? 7-2

In January 1993, a Taiwanese student in the U.S. Is Tzu Chi Stem Cells Center internationally
suffering from leukemia visited Master Cheng accredited?
Yen and pleaded with her to set up a bone marrow Yes. Tzu Chi Stem Cells Center received benchmark
registry in Taiwan. However, at the time, bone accreditation in 2010 and full accreditation in 2015
marrow transplant from unrelated donors was not from the World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA),
allowed in Taiwan.
a voluntary organization overseeing the internation-
al exchange of blood stem cells and promoting the
In May the same year, the Taiwanese government
amended the law to lift the legal restriction on mar- interest of volunteer donors. With the accreditation,
row donation. After making sure that donating bone Tzu Chi Stem Cells Center has become an interna-
marrow was harmless to health, Master Cheng Yen tional marrow database. It is now one of the largest
accepted the Taiwanese government’s commission marrow registries in the world.
and set up a bone marrow registry in October 1993. 7-3
In 2002, the registry was renamed Tzu Chi Stem
Cells Center. How many potential donors have registered with

Tzu Chi Stem Cells Center Tzu Chi Stem Cells Center?
has helped over 4,600
people in 30 countries As of June 2017, Tzu Chi Stem Cells Center had listed
with stem cells collect- over 414,000 potential donors.
ed from bone marrow,
peripheral blood and
umbilical cord blood.
(Tzu Chi Stem Cells Center)

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