▲ Registration of intent to donate organs
The number of patients who ultimately passed away without receiving an organ transplant reached an average of 8.6 per day last year.
The number of deaths while waiting for an organ transplant has increased by 27 percent over the past five years.
According to data received from the National Institute of Organ, Tissue and Blood Management by Representative Baek Jong-heon of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, the number of deaths while waiting for an organ transplant increased by 27.1 percent from 2,480 in 2021 to 3,152 in 2025.
The number of deaths while waiting for a transplant decreased slightly from 2,919 in 2022 to 2,909 the following year, but surpassed 3,000 for the first time in 2024 and continued to rise thereafter.
Based on last year, about 8.6 people lost their lives each day while waiting for an organ transplant.
Looking by organ type, the number of deaths while waiting for a kidney transplant was the highest.
Among last year's deaths, kidney transplant waiters accounted for 1,739, making up 55.2 percent of the total.
The number of people who ended their lives while waiting for a liver transplant also exceeded 1,000.
While the number of people waiting for organ transplants increased, brain-dead organ donors decreased, worsening the supply-demand imbalance.
During the same period, while the number of people waiting for organ transplants increased by 18.6 percent from 39,261 to 46,550, the number of brain-dead organ donors decreased by 16.3 percent from 442 to 370.
Representative Baek Jong-heon said, "Organ transplantation is a treatment that grants patients a new and healthy life, but currently, numerous patients are ending their lives while waiting indefinitely for organs."
He emphasized, "The government should not limit itself to improving public awareness of organ donation, but should come up with practical measures to revitalize donation, such as discovering potential donors and strengthening the donation linkage system of medical institutions."
(Photo provided by Yonhap News TV, Yonhap News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.