Korean Organ and Tissue Donation Agency
Overview
The Korean Organ and Tissue Donation Agency (KODA) is a public institution under the Ministry of Health and Welfare established to systematically manage and promote organ and tissue donation in South Korea. Officially launched on January 1, 2021, it integrates and reorganizes the functions of the former Life Sharing Practice Headquarters (생명나눔실천본부) and the Korean Organ Donation Agency (한국장기기증원), overseeing all aspects of organ, tissue, and human tissue donation. Its main roles include registering potential donors, managing brain death determination and organ procurement, managing transplant waiting lists, and conducting education and public relations to spread a culture of donation.
Main Content
Establishment Background and Legal Basis
The Korean Organ and Tissue Donation Agency was established under the "Act on Organ Transplantation" (장기등 이식에 관한 법률). In the past, organ donation and tissue donation were operated by separate institutions, leading to inefficiencies and limitations in standardizing and ensuring transparency in donation procedures. Accordingly, the government revised relevant laws in 2020 to establish an integrated donation agency, launching the Korean Organ and Tissue Donation Agency in 2021. This is expected to unify donation procedures, increase the efficiency of waiting list management, and prevent illegal organ trafficking.
Main Tasks
1. Registration and Management of Potential Donors: Accepts registrations for organ and tissue donation from the entire population and manages donors' intentions in a database. Registration is possible through various channels, including online, mobile apps, mail, and in-person visits.
2. Brain Death Determination and Organ Procurement Management: Collaborates with medical institutions to conduct brain death determination procedures according to brain death criteria and coordinates the appropriate allocation of procured organs. This process strictly adheres to medical ethics and legal procedures.
3. Transplant Waiting List Management: Registers and manages information on patients waiting for organ transplants and fairly allocates organs based on allocation criteria (medical urgency, waiting time, blood type compatibility, etc.).
4. Tissue Donation Management: Promotes donation of human tissues such as skin, bone, ligaments, and corneas, and supports safe processing, storage, and distribution in cooperation with tissue banks.
5. Education and Public Relations: Operates educational programs targeting schools, workplaces, and local communities to spread a culture of donation, and conducts awareness campaigns through mass media and social media.
6. Research and Statistics: Collects and analyzes statistics related to organ transplantation to contribute to policy formulation and supports research for the advancement of transplant medicine.
Donation Procedure
Organ donation primarily occurs in a state of brain death, and the procedure is as follows:
- Brain Death Determination: At a medical institution, two or more specialists independently determine brain death based on criteria (loss of brainstem reflexes, loss of spontaneous breathing, etc.).
- Donation Consent: Obtains family consent or confirms the intention of a pre-registered potential donor.
- Organ Procurement and Transplantation: Procured organs are allocated according to the transplant waiting list.
- Tissue Donation: Post-mortem tissue donation is possible within 24 hours of death and includes skin, corneas, bones, etc.
Current Status and Achievements
As of 2024, the number of registered potential organ donors at the Korean Organ and Tissue Donation Agency reaches approximately 3 million, with about 500 brain-dead donors and about 1,500 living donors annually. However, there are about 40,000 patients on the transplant waiting list, indicating a severe organ shortage. For tissue donation, corneal donation is the most active, with about 2,000 corneal transplants performed annually. The agency is continuously strengthening campaigns to register potential donors to address this gap.
Latest Trends
As of 2024–2025, the Korean Organ and Tissue Donation Agency is focusing on digital transformation and enhancing transparency. In 2024, it announced a pilot introduction of an organ allocation system using blockchain technology to increase the reliability and traceability of the allocation process. Additionally, it is developing an artificial intelligence (AI)-based brain death determination assistance system, expected to reduce determination time and errors. In 2025, it plans to establish "Tissue Donation Day" (the first week of September each year) to promote tissue donation and launch large-scale awareness campaigns for corneal and skin donation. Meanwhile, transplant surgeries temporarily decreased after the COVID-19 pandemic but have been recovering since 2024 and are expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels by 2025. The government is also reviewing policies to expand support funds for donor families and reduce medical expenses to promote organ donation.
Related Topics
- [[Organ transplantation]]
- [[Brain death]]
- [[Life Sharing Practice Headquarters]]
- [[Ministry of Health and Welfare]]
- [[Human tissue donation]]
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