South Korea surpasses 100,000 organ transplant recipients
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South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that over 100,000 people have received organ transplants as of April of this year.
The milestone comes as the country held its ninth annual Life Sharing Week, an event designed to honor organ donors and promote donation. The ministry has run Life Sharing Week annually since 2018, observing it during the second week of September. In 2023, 55,002 people were on the transplant waiting list while 4,172 people donated organs.
Last year, 139,245 people registered their wish to donate, bringing the total number of registered donors to 3,043,170. During a commemorative ceremony held at the EL Tower in Seoul, the ministry honored 34 individuals and five institutions for their contributions to organ donation. Kim Kyung-cheol received a ministerial award for his work raising awareness of organ donation after his 29-year-old son became a donor following brain death, helping seven people and aiding over 100 more.
Actress Hwang Bo-ra was also recognized for her ongoing participation in the life-sharing movement, beginning with her own organ donation pledge in 2012. Yanggu Public Health Center in Gangwon Province, Ilsandonggu Public Health Center in Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province, Gunpo Public Health Center in Gyeonggi Province, Gangnam Severance Hospital, and Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital received institutional awards.
