Taipei: A sports coach at a Taiwanese university has issued a formal apology over a research project that allegedly involved her coercing students into giving blood, according to local media. Chou Tai-ying, 61, stated her intention was to support her team “because I had only a few players and they were often injured”, though the exact purpose of the blood collection remains unclear.

According to BBC, Taiwanese politician Chen Pei-yu brought the case to light in 2024, alleging that students were threatened with losing academic credits if they did not participate. Professor Chen Hsueh-chih, who led one of the unspecified research projects, also issued an apology, acknowledging that the effort aimed to aid student athletes but inadvertently caused harm to them and their families.

The internal investigation revealed that students had been giving blood once a day, with samples discarded after faults in the blood collection process were identified. Chen Pei-yu initially claimed that the research project required players to provide three blood samples daily for 14 consecutive days and that this demand extended over several years.

NTNU principal Wu Cheng-chi publicly apologized on Saturday, citing the university’s negligence, and promised a review of the institution’s ethics and oversight procedures. Taiwan’s deputy education minister announced that the case, along with the actions of Chou and Chen, would be reviewed by their department.

In a related development, the education ministry stated on Thursday that it might revoke the coaching license of an NTNU women’s football coach, without specifying the individual involved.