The Chang Gung Memorial Hospital - Kaohsiung Medical Center (CGMH-KMC) offers living donor liver transplantation to foreign patients who wish to avail of its expertise in liver transplantation. CGMH-KMC will facilitate patient and donor / relative transfer in terms of assisting in visa requirements for travel to Taiwan, hospital room reservation, hostel / dormitory accommodation for relatives, and medical social service needs.
CGMH-KMC is in the heart of Kaohsiung which is situated on the southwestern coast of Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait to the west and, beyond the southern tip of the island, the Bashi Channel to the south. It is the second largest city in Taiwan and sixth-largest container harbor in the world. CGMH-KMC is only 30 minutes from Kaohsiung International Airport. The usual mode of transportation is by taxi (NT $ 350 ˇV 400) or bus. Taxi fare flagfall is NT $ 70, with NT $ 5 added for every 250 meters. Taxis that queue at the airport charge an additional NT $ 50. Bus fares are NT $ 12 for air-conditioned buses and NT $ 10 for non-air-conditioned buses. Hospital transport by ambulance conduction can be arranged in advance.
WEATHER
Proximity to the sea gives Kaohsiung a warm, sunny climate all year round. Summer and Dry Seasons are usually from March to June where temperature ranges 27 ˇV 32 degrees Celsius. Monsoon season is from May to October. Winter season usually begins in late October and lasts until February where temperature can dip to 13 degrees Celsius. The year-round average temperature is 24.4 degrees Celsius. The hottest month is July, the coolest January. Temperature variation between day and night is not great.
LANGUAGE
The official language is Mandarin Chinese. Taiwanese and Hakka are also spoken. About 35% of the population are able to communicate in English.
Most hospital personnel are conversant in English.
ACCOMMODATIONS AND HOSTEL
Patients usually stay in Taiwan for around 2 months after the operation. This allows close patient monitoring and for dosage adjustment in immunosuppression.
While in Taiwan, patient and relatives can avail of the CGMH-KMC hostel which is located within the hospital compound. This fully-furnished hostel is available on a daily, weekly, and monthly rental basis. Rent is NT $ 700/ day. A 20% discount is given if the hostel is to be occupied for more than a month. The hostel includes spacious living room, 1 - bedroom, separate dining room and kitchen, toilet and bathroom. Centralized air-conditioning, and hot and cold water are available. Telephone and cable television are also provided. Other amenities within the hostel compound include tennis courts, basketball courts, a jogging path, adult and children swimming pool and a spacious park. If the hostel is not available, patient and relatives have to stay in nearby apartments outside of the hospital.
FOOD AND RESTAURANTS
Food, restaurants, and convenient stores are available 24 ˇV hours in the hospital snack bar and basement. Chinese, Japanese, American, vegetarian menus are available. Flower and gift shops, bookstore and office supplies are also available.
Barber shop and beauty parlor services are available daily. These are located at the basement. Room service can be arranged.
Banking and Postal services are available. Local and commercial banks, as well as automated teller machines are available within hospital premises. The banks are open Monday to Friday.
Catholic, Protestant, and Buddhist chapels are available for private and individual worships. These are located at the hospital basement. Individual services can be arranged in advance.
Before patients are advised to transfer to Taiwan, the following pre-transplant requirements must be accomplished:
A. Referral letter from the attending physician from the country where the patient will be coming from. These can be accomplished by either surface mail or electronic mail (i.e., FAX, e-mail, etc.).
This must include:
1. Complete diagnosis
2. Clinical abstract
3. Indication for transplant
4. Results of pertinent laboratory examinations done
5. Reports of diagnostic imaging performed
ˇ@
Address all inquiries to: PROFESSOR CHAO-LONG CHEN
SUPERINTENDENT AND DIRECTOR
Liver Transplantation Program
Chang Gung Memorial Hospital
Kaohsiung Medical Center
123 Ta-Pei Road, Niao-Sung
Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Telephone: 886-7-731-7123, Ext. 8000
FAX: 886-7-732 4855
Email: clchen@adm.cgmh.org.tw
B. A list of potential donors with proof of their consanguinity (i.e., birth certificate, marriage certificate, affidavits, etc.). These proofs of consanguinity must be authenticated by a Taiwan Representative (Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office) from country of origin of patient/ relative.
C. As per Taiwan law, live organ donation for use in transplantation is regulated by the Statute for Human Organ Transplants, promulgated on June 19, 1987, as amended. The following should be observed:
1. The donor must be an adult and should provide written permission, with written witness statements from a minimum of two closest relatives.
2. The safety of the organ donor should be of paramount concern during the removal operation and the recipient of the transplant must be limited to the donorˇ¦s relatives within five degrees of kinship or their spouse.
As stipulated by law, living related donors are accepted only up to 5th degree of consanguinity or their spouse. These include patientˇ¦s spouse, parents, children, brother, sister, uncle, auntie, nephew, niece. Patientˇ¦s grandparents and grandchildren may also donate. Donors must be 20 years or older. Witnesseth relatives are accepted only up to 3rd degree of consanguinity.
In general, all potential foreign patients and donors undergo preliminary pre-operative conference with the liver transplantation staff before final acceptance and arrangements for them to come to Taiwan will be made. All live donor liver transplants have to be approved by the hospitalˇ¦s Ethics Committee.
Upon acceptance, a notification will be sent to both patient and referring physician informing them of tentative schedule of live donor liver transplant. An amount of New Taiwan $ 1.5 Million or its equivalent is required to be deposited, prior to arrival to Taiwan, by telegraphic transfer to:
TA CHONG BANK LTD
Head Office Business Division
No. 58 Chung Cheng 2nd Road
Kaohsiung, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Swift Code : OURBTWTP
A/C Name: Chang Gung Memorial Hospital
A/C No.: 043-01-000029-8
A FAX copy of the bank transaction must be sent to CGMH-KMC through Fax Number: +886-7-732-4855. This amount will approximate uncomplicated hospital expenses for both donor and recipient surgeries. The amount excludes travel expenses, housing, and living expenses while at Kaohsiung.
PATIENT DISCHARGE AND FOLLOW-UP
Upon discharge from the hospital, patient-recipient and donor will be given official hospital reciepts for record purposes. A photocopy of patientˇ¦s operative records, summary of immunosuppression data records, etc. will be given to patient and his/ her attending physician in the country where subsequent follow-ups will be made.
Kaohsiung not only has a superb location and enchanting natural surroundings, but also friendly people who welcome visitors with utmost warmth and hospitality.
Welcome to Kaohsiung. Welcome to Chang Gung Memorial Hospital.