Over 3,000 die waiting for organ transplants

More than 3,000 patients in South Korea died last year while waiting for organ transplants, the highest number since records began in 2015. The number of patients on waiting lists continues to grow, but donations are falling as systems and public awareness lag.

According to data obtained by Democratic Party Rep. Nam In-soon from the Ministry of Health and Welfare on Oct. 10, 3,096 patients died while awaiting transplants last year, up 41.3 percent from 2,191 in 2020. It was the largest number of such deaths since recordkeeping began

The number of patients waiting for transplants rose about 27 percent from 35,852 in 2020 to 45,567 last year. In the first half of 2025, the figure had already reached 46,416, surpassing the total for all of last year. In contrast, the number of transplant recipients fell from 5,883 in 2020 to 5,030 last year, a decline of roughly 15 percent. Only 2,396 people received transplants in the first six months of this year, continuing the downward trend.

Reports of potential brain-dead donors have risen, but falling family consent rates are seen as a key reason for the shortage. A bill pending in the National Assembly would allow donations from cardiac arrest patients who gave prior consent, known as donation after circulatory death (DCD), but it remains stalled in committee.

Rep. Nam urged the swift adoption of the DCD system and called for improvements to allow authorized medical professionals easier access to donors’ medical records to speed up donation and transplant procedures


김자현 zion37@donga.com