Once again, Taiwan has donated bone marrow to another country. The difference is that the marrow of a Taiwanese woman, whose ancestors came from Anhui Province in China, was donated to a blue-eyed boy of Italian-Greek descent.

"Ring ... ring..." It was Lucia Garbarino of the Italian Bone Marrow Centre, her urgent tone reflecting her anxiety. A boy of Italian-Greek descent was suffering from acute leukemia. None of the donors registered at the largest bone marrow centres in Europe and America had genes that matched the boy's. As a last resort, the Italian physicians were approaching the largest bone marrow centre for Asians-the Tzu Chi Marrow Donor Registry.

An unlikely match

The HLA typing (the composition of a human's white blood corpuscles, which determines whether a transplant will be rejected)-A2402, A3303; B4001, B5801; DR1501, DR1501-initially came as a big surprise to me. The homozygous "DR1501, DR1501" antibodies are common among the Chinese and Greeks. However, "A3303, B5801" are unique to the Chinese. How could a boy with blue eyes, blond hair, an Italian father and Greek mother, possess typically Chinese genes? Could it be that the Italian laboratories had made an error? Subsequent verification from the Tzu Chi laboratories confirmed that the typing was correct.

The Tzu Chi Marrow Donor Registry found preliminary matches among three donors. When the boy's attending doctor received the news in Italy, he immediately requested the volunteers' blood samples. It turned out that a perfect match was found only from the sample of a Ms. Liang from Taoyuan County. She agreed to donate her bone marrow to save the boy's life.

On the night of August 3, Liang, accompanied by her sister and a Tzu Chi commissioner from Taoyuan, checked into Tzu Chi Hospital in preparation for the bone marrow operation the next day. Liang was a tall, fair beauty with striking features. What impressed me most was her firm yet relaxed attitude (in contrast to the nervousness of most other donors).

Common ancestors?

On August 5, Liang and her sister, accompanied by the Tzu Chi commissioner and me, visited Master Cheng Yen at the Abode of Still Thoughts. When the Master learned that the recipient of the bone marrow had Greek blood, she told Liang, "You yourself look Greek!"

These words made me realise that Liang did indeed resemble a classic Greek beauty. What a fortuitous turn of fate this was! A person's genes are contained in the chromosomes contributed by each parent. From the perspective of human heredity and history, a match in the bone marrow between donor and recipient suggests that both the donor and recipient can probably trace their roots back to the same ancestor.

Liang's ancestry originated from Anhui Province. According to historical records, many Chinese generals came from Anhui. One of Liang's ancestors could have been a general who went with Genghis Khan to conquer Europe more than seven centuries ago, and brought home a beauty as his wife. The Italian-Greek boy's ancestors could have been the descendants of Chinese warriors who married Greek wives. Otherwise, how could the genes of two people of such different nationalities and races possibly match? It could well be that this bone marrow donation would reconnect family ties between both parties.

Look among one's own kind

A person's white corpuscles not only contain common antibodies, but also antibodies unique to his ethnic group. Therefore, the chances of finding a marrow donor with matching genetic makeup are highest among one's own race.

I remember fifteen years ago when I was in the United States, an Indian chief called the Red Cross Society headquarters looking for me. He said he needed to see me urgently, but he gave no reason over the phone. That afternoon, a tall, rugged-looking man came into my office. He was longhaired, disheveled, out of breath, and sweating profusely. He grabbed me with his big strong hands and tearfully said, "Dr. Lee, please save my daughter."

It turned out that his seven-year-old daughter was suffering from leukemia. At that time, the American National Marrow Donor Program had not yet been set up. Although he had sought medical help everywhere, he was invariably told that his daughter's marrow make-up was too unique and that it would be difficult to find a match. Finally, a doctor recommended that he try his luck with me.

After examining his daughter's HLA type, I thought it over for a while. "Quickly get all your tribe members to give blood samples," I advised him. "Then mail the samples to my laboratory. We will perform the tests for you free of charge. There is a strong possibility that a suitable marrow donor can be found."

Very soon, 174 blood samples arrived. Because the Indians have a tradition of marrying among close relatives, it was easy to find two donors with marrow that matched that of the Indian chief's daughter. Thus, the chief's daughter received a successful transplant and a new lease on life. Ever since then, every Christmas the Indian chief has sent a picture of his daughter, a thank-you card, and a box of candy to my laboratory.

There was another case in the state of Maryland. A twenty-year-old Jewish girl had contracted leukemia, and her parents organised massive blood test drives throughout the United States. Over one hundred thousand blood samples were sent to our laboratory, but no match could be found. Because the girl had a unique Jewish genetic composition, I suggested that her family look for donors from their ancestral homeland-Israel. Unfortunately, bone marrow donation was still very uncommon in Israel at that time, and few people donated blood samples. A match could not be found and the girl died two years later.

All people in the world are one family

After bidding farewell to Master Cheng Yen, I walked along the path at the Abode. As I glanced at the green hills outside and the clear pond water inside the compound, I recalled what one of the Italian medical personnel had said as she left for Italy with the donated bone marrow:

"Dr Lee, today I have truly learned the meaning of the saying, 'All people within the four seas are family.' I now hold this container of life-saving bone marrow in my hands, filled with the love of Tzu Chi members. Now I am going back to Italy to save that fortunate recipient. Please convey my utmost gratitude to Master Cheng Yen and the donor. Taiwan is indeed a beautiful gem of an island. Tzu Chi people are angels of compassion!"

Time and again, marrow donors have given selflessly. The bone marrow donation programme has become a bridge of love between total strangers and recorded moving verses of truth, goodness and beauty. The programme also serves as timeless testimony to the Buddha's compassion when he said, "Give even your head, eyes, marrow and brain to others."