Bone Marrow Donation

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 expanding Tzu Chi's marrow donation program to the entire world.