Taiwan's silent mentors

Jonathan Adams October 18, 2009 11:22 ET

Need a cadaver? Head to Taiwan

Video: With the help of a Buddhist group, Taiwan's "Silent Mentors" program has brought in the bodies for science.

By Jonathan Adams
Published: October 19, 2009 05:32 ET
Updated: October 19, 2009 12:12 ET

HUALIEN, Taiwan — Here on Taiwan's rugged east coast, a good body is a hard thing to find. Or at least it used to be.

Now, one Buddhist group may have found the answer to the island's serious cadaver shortage.

For years, medical schools here were short on the dead bodies needed for research and training. The cadavers they did use were unwilling donors, often from mental institutions. One problem was cultural: Confucian tradition views a person's body as a precious gift from one's parents. The body should be buried whole and undamaged, the thinking goes.

But that began to change here in the mid-1990s, when a popular Buddhist group, Tzu Chi, began its "Silent Mentors" program.

Based in Taiwan, Tzu Chi is the world's largest Buddhist charity, with 10 million members and 2 million volunteers worldwide. In 1994, it began to appeal to its members to donate their bodies for medical research.

The call worked. Now, some 25,000 people have signed up. Hundreds have already passed away and had their bodies used for medical training.

Where once the student-cadaver ratio in some Taiwan anatomy classes was 100 to 1, now it's 15 to 1 or less, allowing for far better instruction.

"It's snowballed, it's getting really big — we can't stop it," Tseng Guo-fang, director of the medical simulation center at Tzu Chi's medical school.

Tseng says the key to the program's success is the promise to respect the silent mentor, and put the body to good use.

In most med schools, research cadavers are name-less pieces of flesh. But here, students get to know the donor's family. They learn about the donor's life. And sometimes they even meet the donor before he or she passes away.

"This way, family members know who is going to dissect their loved ones," said Tseng. "That establishes mutual appreciation and trust."

Huang Jian-yi, 54, is one relative. His father signed up as a Silent Mentor after a diagnosis of lung cancer. At first, some family members weren't sure about the program, said Huang. But now, they've all grown to appreciate it.

"What I most approve of is Tzu Chi's respect and reverence for the silent mentor," said Huang.

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Posted by speakingofchina on October 21, 2009 00:16 ET

Excellent story! I know Tzu Chi well from when I visited Taiwan, but this is definitely a new take on their charitable efforts.

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