Paper Organs utilizes design to address the organ donation issue in Taiwan. By integrating culture and traditional funeral customs, we have designed a customized gift that can be given to families of organ donors through hospitals. This gift allows them to complete the donor's body and send their loved ones to heaven in a manner that aligns with cultural traditions.

The design of Paper Organs incorporates paper craft techniques and aesthetics used in funeral rituals. We tackled the long-standing negative perceptions of organ donation in Taiwanese society, allowing organ donors to pass away in a dignified and blessed manner.

After the launch of Paper Organs, we assisted our client in negotiating collaborations with 11 organ transplant hospitals. We persuaded these hospitals to allocate budgets from Donor’s Family Care Programs to produce and distribute. Families from these 11 hospitals, regardless of past or future, can apply for Paper Organs free of charge.

Meanwhile, in order to ensure all families have access to product, we also collaborated with local funeral item stores to make it available for purchase. Additionally, the product is available on Pinkoi, one of Taiwan's largest e-commerce platforms, further ensuring accessibility for families of organ donors in need.

Similar to the Egyptians preserving organs in jars for eternal life, many Taiwanese strongly adhere to the traditional Chinese culture that having a complete body is essential for reaching heaven. The concept of 'body must remain intact' has repeatedly subjected donor’s families to self-criticism.

There's a real story about a wife who agreed to her husband's wish for organ donation and faced disapproval from her mother-in-law and relatives, hearing comments like 'You don't love my son enough!’, 'How could you be so ruthless!', and 'He's missing a heart because of you; now he can't go to heaven!' This caused immense psychological torment for the wife, leading to multiple suicide attempts.

The long-term goal of Taiwan Organ Sharing Registry & Patient Autonomy Promotion Center in executing the 'Organ Donor's Family Care Program' is to alleviate the psychological burden on families in such situations.

Many Taiwanese are opposed to organ donation and are reluctant to sign consent forms. The issue of organ donation in Taiwan is not merely a medical concern but also a cultural one. In traditional Chinese culture, there is a belief that individuals who undergo organ donation may be unable to ascend to heaven. This traditional perspective has become the major obstacle to promoting organ donation in Taiwan. Even though people may be aware that consenting to organ donation is a benevolent act, many are still unwilling to sign organ donation consent forms.

Paper Organs is an innovative product designed to allow donors to adhere to the cultural practice of "body must remain intact". Collaborating with Taiwanese artist Chen Wen-tai, traditional paper art techniques are employed to craft organs such as heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, corneas, and more. This enables the donor's family to conduct a burning ritual for Paper Organs after the donor's passing. Following the funeral custom of "Joss Paper Burning", these paper-made organs are sent to the donor in the afterlife.

Paper Organs become a cultural symbol for breaking taboo in organ donation. The design aims to provide reassurance to organ donors, comfort to their families, and shift the public's attitude, eliminating the fear associated with organ donation. Beyond functionality, we prioritize user experience, incorporating "emotional design" in the design process. By aligning with local culture and public perception, the product ensures readability and accessibility for users.

Paper Organs debuted at the National Taiwan University Hospital, the country's largest organ donation center, as part of the "Rebirth Paper Art Exhibition". Taiwan Organ Sharing Registry and Patient Autonomy Promotion Center has announced the official integration of Paper Organs into the existing "Organ Donation Promotion Program" and "Organ Donor Family Care Program" in the exhibition and have commenced large-scale production of Paper Organs. As of July 2023, 11 hospitals have joined the program and begun offering Paper Organs.

Hospital volunteers and nurses, stationed at key signing stations, help introduce Paper Organs to the public, emphasizing its significance in preserving the body intact after organ donation and allowing ascent to heaven after death. Simultaneously, hospitals facilitate a streamlined process to assist donor’s families in conducting the burning ritual for Paper Organs, dedicating them to the donors in the afterlife.

After introduction of Paper Organs, Taiwan Organ Sharing Registry & Patient Autonomy Promotion Center received numerous messages of gratitude from the families of donors. This project has inspired countless family members of donors to overcome the guilt associated with signing organ donation consent form.

- 332 sets of paper organs were distributed within six months. This includes 42 hearts, 15 lungs, 113 kidneys, 69 livers, and 93 corneas. (Annual number of organ donors in Taiwan in 2023: 416 )

- 56% of family members experienced psychological issues in the past. We decrease the proportion of seeking counseling rate by 12%. 76% found comfort in their grief from interviews.

-Participants in the Family Care Program increased by 42%.

-The annual organ donation consent signing rate increased by 28%, the highest in the past five years, with over 3,400 forms collected.

-Positive discussions about "organ donation" on social media increased by 411%.