Organ Transplantation Difficulty

[Anchor Lead]

It is estimated that 34,000 patients are waiting for organ transplantation, but it is becoming more and more difficult to find matching donors because the number of people who can donate healthy organs is on the decrease. Take a look.

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Three months ago, this woman in her 70s received a kidney transplant. She no longer needs dialysis, which she had to undergo three times a week.

[Soundbite] Kim Bok-im(Kidney transplant patient) : "It was tough for me to stay stuck in bed for four hours. I am really grateful that I no longer need to receive dialysis."

The surgery was a success. However, the transplant was not easy, since the donor was nearly 80 years old whose kidney was weakening in function.

[Soundbite] Prof. Lee Jeong-pyo(Boramae Medical Center) : "Kidney transplant usually takes four hours. But in this patient's case, it took eight hours and the surgery ended at dawn."

In more than 30 cases annually, organs are declared inappropriate for transplant surgeries, as their owners are too old. The average age of organ donors continues to increase in line with the aging population of Korea. Over half of organ donors are aged 50 or older. This is it's important to encourage organ donations. These days, barely two or three out of 100 people promise to donate their organs. Even in the case of brain-dead patients, six out of ten times, their families refuse organ donations.

[Soundbite] Cho Won-hyun(President, Korea Organ Donation Agency) : "The rate of family agreement to organ donations has dropped 10 to 15 percent compared to two years ago. It suggests a fall in organ donors. It is very important to create a social atmosphere favorable to organ donations."

The medical sector is calling for a change in public perception of donating organs and an improvement in a system to reward donors.