Taking care of law, reason and emotion:
"This is not something that can be achieved in one step," stresses Su. In Singapore there was more than a decade of guidance on organ donation. It was only when there was a widespread awareness about organ donation among the citizens that the government established the elimination law. When it comes to promoting organ donation in Taiwan, although it has been something going on for the last few years, it is still unlikely that we could instantly bring in the Singapore model.
Then again, in accordance with human rights considerations, can public rights decide the fate of the individual after death? There remains much doubt. Doctor Shen Fu-hsiung, one of the freshman legislators, says that standing in the position of a kidney doctor he supports legislation to increase the supply of kidneys. Nevertheless, human rights considerations make him oppose this kind of law, because it is wrong to pare away inalienable human rights with legal techniques.
In fact, when Singapore established its elimination law some four or five years ago, different faiths and customs had to be taken into consideration. For example, out of respect for the Islamic rule that does not permit destruction of the completeness of the corpse, Moslems were excluded from the law. The result was that three years after the law was implemented, a steady stream of Moslems was joining the list of donors.
Ralph Su thinks that, for the present, the use of guidance and signed donor cards will be of help in seeing through the coming legislation.
Of course, the problem is not that simple. If people are to accept organ donation, then it should be coordinated with other procedures. For example, according to the regulations governing human organ transplants, when the party concerned consents to the transplant, only the definition "brain dead" can be used. Yet most deaths are still defined in traditional terms of cessation of breathing or heartbeat. If brain death can become the commonly accepted definition of death, unfortunate relatives might find death easier to face and not try pointless emergency measures to save a life. Medical resources will also then be saved, and perhaps more people will be willing to donate their organs.
Gratitude and joy:
It is very difficult for healthy people to really understand the joy of life. Perhaps the following examples will move us in a new way.
"I am really so grateful to the unknown person who gave me my kidneys," says Cheng Ming-lang, a cab driver who has been given a new life by the love somebody left behind.
He began receiving dialysis in 1984 when he contracted uremia. At that time he was a supervisor in a small company. Because his employer had overlooked his labor insurance, Cheng had to undergo dialysis for 18 months with absolutely no coverage. "It washed away the house," he says. So, to support the massive costs, he sold his original house and spent more than NT$2 million in 18 months.
Although Cheng Ming-lang recovered his insurance after 18 months and did not need to sell again, dialysis and therapy three times every week, six or seven hours at a time, meant that he could not work like a normal person. The family budget relied completely on his wife's selling vegetables. "Watching my wife go out at 3 :30 every morning to sell vegetables, and being completely unable to help, was a very hard experience to cope with," he recalls.
A turning point after five years:
After five years of suffering, a turning point was reached. "At first I just had this lingering idea about registering for a transplant. I never thought I would really get the chance," Cheng Ming-lang says, recalling the moment when he had just received notification for his transplant from the hospital. He was, "hopeful and afraid I might be harmed."
The dream finally came true. Not only did Cheng Ming-lang get the opportunity for a transplant, but the operation was a success. Now, apart from driving his cab ten hours a day, he uses his spare time to be a volunteer accompanying dialysis patients in the hospital. "I think that my own responsibility is even heavier," he says. Because the hospital keeps it a secret, he still does not know who the kind donor was who gave him a new lease on life. This only makes him even more grateful.
Lai Ming-kun says: "Every time the pallid donated kidney is implanted in the receiver's body, when the blood vessels are connected and the clamps released; in that instant when the blood flows into the kidney and the originally pallid organ immediately fills with the new blood to become fresh, red and swollen, every pulsation is full of the force of life." From this operation he claims to have come to understand the greatness and the ceaseless vitality of life.
Modern medicine and the miracle of winning back life naturally gets people's respect and admiration. Yet the biggest obstacle stopping most people from becoming organ donors is still religion.
Different views from religion:
Most people believe that when somebody stops breathing, it takes at least eight hours for the soul to completely leave the body. According to records in the classics, this process is something like a tortoise leaving its shell. If at this time the organs are taken and the body disturbed, it will be hard to escape the wrath of the deceased. Furthermore, according to Buddhist theory the soul must pass through the path of hell, from which it is hard to return. This has made a number of Buddhist masters adopt conservative views on organ donation.
The Venerable Hui Lu says, "Unless you have a strong Buddhist training, if you want to be an organ donor, you had better think about it very carefully." However, the highly respected Venerable Cheng Yen thinks that organ donation is the action of a Bodhisattva, is extremely virtuous and should be encouraged.
Then there is the case of Sri Lanka. Although it is a country which follows an esoteric branch of Buddhism, the people believe in the spirit of the story of the Buddha feeding his body to a starving lion. All the way from the premier down to the common people, people have signed cornea donor cards. The figures show that one in fifteen of the population-- a total of more than a million people--have given their consent.
Whether or not organ donation can be harmful to life after death is something that living people cannot control. But as human beings we have our full human nature and our rights. It is up to us to decide whether or not to relieve suffering and distress. If we do take the road of the Bodhisattva when we make our decision, will we also have the courage to shoulder the results?