400,000 People Hope to Donate Organs, Only 8 Realized... Truly a 'Miraculous Event'

"Respect for Organ Donation Hopefuls
Need to Expand Donor Scope"

Over the past five years, the total number of new registrants wishing to donate organs and tissues reached 386,577, but the actual number of brain-dead donors was only around eight.

Image unrelated to the article content. [Photo by Pixabay] [Image source: Pixabay]

According to data received by Seo Young-seok, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, from the National Organ, Tissue and Blood Management Agency, the average annual number of registrants wishing to donate organs and tissues over the past five years was 77,315, whereas the average number of actual brain-dead donors was only two.

Additionally, the average number of cancellations after registering as a donor was 1,572, and the average number of deaths among registrants was 632.

During the same period, the average annual number of brain-dead donors was approximately 445. However, only about 29 of these donors, or 6.6%, had registered their intention to donate during their lifetime, while approximately 416 donors, or 93.4%, were approved by family members or guardians.

Representative Seo stated, "Even if people register their intention to donate organs and tissues, the rate of actual donation is significantly low," and added, "Among actual donors, the proportion of donations decided by guardians is higher than those based on the donor’s own registered intention."

The COVID-19 pandemic also affected the number of brain-dead donors and registrants wishing to donate organs and tissues. The annual number of organ donation registrants was ▲2018 (70,763) ▲2019 (90,350) ▲2020 (67,160) ▲2021 (88,865) ▲2020 (69,439). Compared to the previous year, there was a 7.5% decrease in 2021 and an 8.4% decrease in 2022.

According to the "Organ Transplant Status" report released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of people who died while waiting for organ transplants increased from 1,152 in 2013 to 2,918 in 2022. Although the number of people desperately hoping for organ transplants is increasing, organ donation is only permitted when brain death is diagnosed, which has led to an increase in deaths.

Among those who died while waiting for a transplant, the organ most frequently awaited was the kidney (1,506), followed by ▲liver (1,071) ▲pancreas (81) ▲heart (129) ▲lung (125) ▲islets of Langerhans (2) ▲small intestine (4).

Representative Seo called organ donation a "miracle." Citing that last year one person died every three hours while waiting solely for an organ donation, he said, "To respect the dignified decision of citizens who register their intention to donate organs and tissues, we must consider and prepare to expand the scope of donors beyond brain death to include circulatory death, where blood circulation and respiratory functions have ultimately ceased."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.