The first international marrow donation between Taiwan and Japan was performed on September 20, 1996. Dr. Satoi Takahashi, who came to Taiwan to fetch the marrow, said that the donor had already been notified of the success of the tissue type match in spring last year. However, the transplant had been delayed because the patient was not in good enough condition to undergo the operation. Nevertheless, the donor's love had never wavered. That made all the Japanese people involved in this task very appreciative and respectful.

The recipient was a Japanese music teacher living in Austria. Diagnosed in 1989 as having chronic leukemia, he had an autologous transplant in May 1994. Unfortunately, the transplant was unsuccessful. In December 1994, the Austrian Marrow Donor Registry started to seek matches in other countries.

In March 1995, a match was found in the Taiwan Tzu Chi Marrow Donor Registry. The patient went back to Japan and entered Tokyo University Medical Research Institute to receive treatment and to wait for the bone marrow transplant, which was scheduled for May 1996. However, his situation was not very stable. It was not until September that his doctor decided to give him the transplant.

The donor participated in a blood test drive in Taichung, Taiwan, in 1994. His blood samples were sent to Austria and Japan last year. His willingness to donate his marrow had never wavered and he was very cooperative. In 1995, he frequently checked with the registry in Taiwan to find out the situation of the patient in the hope of completing the marrow donation as early as possible.

After the extraction on September 20, the donor, a former athlete, recovered his strength very quickly. When the head nurse told him about the gratitude of the Japanese, he said smilingly, "I've finally fulfilled my wish."