Tainan’s Chi Mei Hospital on Aug. 23 introduced technology for making substitute organs using 3D printers to the public at an event held at the hospital to promote organ donation.

台南奇美醫學中心上月二十三日在院內舉辦器官捐贈推廣活動，公開介紹院內的3D列印人工器官技術。

Citing statistics from the Taiwan Organ Registry and Sharing Center, Chi Mei Hospital surgery department head Tian Yu-feng says there are about 9,100 patients in Taiwan waiting for organ transplants, but the average number of organs donated per year is only 200. Although Taiwanese are generally open to the idea of organ donation, people tend to hesitate when it comes to actually signing a donation agreement.

奇美醫學中心外科部部長田宇峰表示，根據器捐移植登錄中心統計，國內等候接受器捐移植人數約九千一百多人，但每年平均只有兩百多人捐出器官。國人雖然普遍已能接受器官捐贈觀念，但真到了要簽字同意的那一刻，還是需要很大的勇氣。

Tian adds that Chi Mei Hospital has been making substitute organs for donors using 3D printers since late last year. The new organs, made of corn powder, substitute donated organs to keep the donors’ body as intact as possible, which helps their family and friends feel more comfortable about the process. Chi Mei Hospital, which is the first hospital in Taiwan to have applied this technology to organ donation, has so far made substitute organs for seven donors.

田宇峰指出，奇美醫學中心從去年底開始應用3D列印科技，為器官捐贈者製作以玉米粉為材質的人工器官，把捐出來的補回去，以盡量保持遺體完整，也讓家屬較能接受。奇美在國內率先採用這種作法，至今已完成七例。

Hospital president Chio Chung-ching says that volunteering to donate an organ is an incredibly selfless act, adding that he hopes more people will be willing to support organ donation and become donors in the future.

奇美醫學中心院長邱仲慶表示，自願登錄器官捐贈是無可取代的大愛情操，希望能有更多民眾支持、參與。

Source article: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2017/09/10/2003678128