ORGAN TRANSPLANT GIFTS NEW LIFE

[Anchor Lead]

An American woman, whose life was saved by a Korean organ donor met the family of the donor in Korea for the first time on Monday. The American, who has suffered from juvenile diabetes since the age of two, says she was given a new life after the organ transplant.

[Pkg]

It's her first ever visit to South Korea. She is welcomed with flowers at the airport. This is 23 year-old Kimberly from the U.S. She was desperate for an organ transplant due to liver damage resulting from juvenile diabetes, which she had since she was two years old, but she had no luck finding a donor. But this all changed when she received the kidney and pancreas of Korean student Kim Yoo-na, who became brain dead following a traffic accident in the U.S. Kimberly even got married last year. She has been in contact with the family of the organ donor, who gave her a new life, but has now visited Korea for the first time since her surgery 4 years ago.

[Soundbite] KIMBERLY(ORGAN TRANSPLANT RECIPIENT)

Kim Je-bak and his wife were devastated by their daughter's sudden death and thought long and hard about the organ donation. The idea of meeting Kimberly face to face brings back memories of their daughter.

[Soundbite] KIM JE-BAK(FATHER OF LATE DONOR KIM YOO-NA) : "It's been 4 years so we really wanted to ask her if she was doing well."

They finally meet... The mother reads out a letter she wrote to Kimberly.

[Soundbite] LEE SEON-GYEONG(MOTHER OF LATE DONOR KIM YOO-NA) : "No longer say thank you and sorry to us. What Yoo-na left is a precious gift."

This case shows the importance of active exchanges of information between organ recipients and the families of donors, but Korean families say domestic laws regarding organ donations restrict them from doing so.