(image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, April 22 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of organ donors in South Korea is failing to keep up with demand from those in need of transplants, and an increasing number of individuals are dying before organs are secured for them.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said there were 39,261 individuals on the waiting list for organ transplants as of late 2021, and the number continues to grow.
An increasing number of patients are dying every year while they wait for organ transplants. The daily death rate has gone up from 4.8 people in 2017 to 6.8 people in 2021.
This is attributed to a lack of increase in organ donations. The number of donors each year maxed at 573 people in 2016, before plunging to 442 people in 2021.
“Last year’s decrease in the number of organ donations is attributed to the quarantine restrictions imposed on hospital emergency rooms and ICUs for COVID-19 patients, which has prevented the opportunities to verify patients suspected of brain death and engage with their guardians for possible organ donation,” a ministry official said.
Organ donors only amount to 10 out of 1 million people in South Korea, which is far behind the U.S. (38.03 people), Spain (37.97 people) and Britain (18.68 people).
The average time spent on the waiting list was 3 years and 7 months as of 2020.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
