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Sharing the love at Organ Donation DayJeju shows progress in number of organ donors but lags behind the mainland
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¡ã Pastor Jang Jeon-soo (left) with Jeju's 10,000th donor, Seo Seong-jae. Photo courtesy Darren Southcott

The “2nd Organ Donation Day Campaign” was held at Jeju National University on Sept. 11 in a bid to increase the number of organ donors on the island. The event was sponsored by the Korean Organ Donor Program and supported by Jeju province and the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS).

The director of the Jeju branch of the Korean Organ Donor Program said that the university was chosen as it enabled campaigners to reach out to Jeju’s youth and educate people about the realities of organ donation. Jeju also has the lowest organ donor rate in the country at 1.5 percent, compared to 2.8 percent in Seoul.

“Traditionally, Korea’s Confucian culture means people are averse to donating organs after death and there is also a lot of misunderstanding and fear about it. We came here to spread our message of love and educate people about organ donation,” said Pastor Jang Jeon-soo, who organized the event.

Although there are differences in how organ donor rates are calculated, Korea performs poorly internationally. In Europe there are a mixture of opt-in and opt-out policies, with Britain standing at 30 percent (opt-in) and Spain, the highest in the world, at 85 percent (opt-out).

The low rate in Korea is particularly worrying as donor waiting lists have been rapidly increasing in recent years, rising from just over 5,000 in 2000, to 23,000 in mid-2014. There are signs of change, however, as last year Jeju’s was ranked atop the nation in new organ donors signing up.

One new applicant on the Thursday was Seo Seong-jae, 20 years old and from Andong. He came across the event by chance and immediately put his name down.

“I always had the intention to sign up as a donor, but I never had the chance to do it before. This event was right here and really easy, so I just did it,” he said. Seo was Jeju’s 10,000th organ donor and his message to other potential donors was, “Don’t worry, just do it.”

¡ã 74-year-old Hong Sang Hee from Seoul donated
her kidney to a 27-year-old girl back in 1997
Photo courtesy Darren Southcott

There were also veteran donors at the event to lend support and advice to attendees. 74-year-old Hong Sang Hee from Seoul donated her kidney to a 27-year-old girl back in 1997 and has been active in the campaign drive ever since. She said she was motivated to donate 17 years ago by the need for donors and her religious faith.

“I am a Christian and it was an expression of my love. In the Bible it says you have to love your neighbor as yourself,” she said, adding that she now wants to counter public misunderstanding about donor health risks. “In Seoul, we even have sports contests between donors and beneficiaries. I want to show people that I am here and I am in good health!

For more information about becoming an organ donor contact the Korean Organ Donor Program Jeju Department at 064-762-2114 or email jsjang@donor.or.kr.

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