More than 1 million people have undergone advance care planning and signed an advance healthcare directive since the Hospice Palliative Care Act (安寧緩和醫療條例) took effect 25 years ago, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday.
In recognition of World Hospice and Palliative Care Day, held annually on the second Saturday of October, the Taiwan Organ Registry and Sharing Center (TORSC) yesterday held a charity run called “New Life, Send From My Heart” in Taipei’s Daan Forest Park (大安森林公園).
In addition to promoting organ donation, the ministry used the opportunity to promote advance care planning — discussing and choosing healthcare and medical treatment options for when a person become seriously ill or unable to communicate their wishes — as well as hospice and palliative care policies.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
TORSC chairman Lee Ming-che (李明哲) said the Human Organ Transplant Act (人體器官移植條例) was promulgated in 1987, the Hospice Palliative Care Act in 2000 and the Patient Right to Autonomy Act (病人自主權利法) in 2016, aimed at helping people pursue a peaceful and dignified end of life, while helping others through organ transplants.
As of last month, more than 1 million people had signed an advance directive (a written statement to refuse specific medical treatments), following years of awareness campaigns for advance care planning and hospice palliative care, the ministry said.
Also as of last month, more than 630,000 people had agreed to be organ donors, Department of Medical Affairs Director-General Liu Yueh-ping (劉越萍) said.
Although more than 10,000 people sign an advance directive each year, the ministry hopes more people will undergo advance care planning and sign an advance directive, she said.
Last year, 419 organ transplants were performed, Liu said, adding that she hopes the annual number remains about the same and does not greatly increase, as most people are healthy and safe.
Ministry data showed that the number of organ donors, and registrants for hospice palliative care services and advance directives have been growing annually, with a slight drop during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ministry urged people to use their National Health Insurance card and Citizen Digital Certificate to log into the ministry’s online registration platform (https://hpcod.mohw.gov.tw) to register as an organ donor or to file an advance directive.
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