A recent report on the lack of respect for organ donors and their families sparked a massive withdrawal from the donor registration pool, highlighting the need for an integrated guideline on proper donation process.

The incident happened after a news report on a father, who had recently donated his deceased son’s organs, criticized the hospital for allegedly mistreating his son’s remains after the surgery.

“They told me to take away the body of my son after they finished the organ donation operation,” said the father known by just his surname of Huh, in an interview with SBS.

Transporting his son’s body to the funeral home was also done by the family, Huh added. “I had to hold my son’s body because the ambulance was shaking so much,” Huh said. “I regret deciding to donate my son’s organs.”

The hospital's explanation that there are no specific guidelines for treating the organ donors triggered a further backlash from the public.

“There have been numerous calls to withdraw organ donor registrations,” said an official at the organ donor support division of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) 질병관리본부. “However, the exact number is unclear as other private and public organizations also take organ donor registrations.”

KCDC confirmed that they have guidelines supporting organ donors, but the directions are not integrated.

“The KCDC has a guideline that is used by hospitals that have signed an agreement with the Korean Organ Donor Program (KODP) 사랑의장기기증운동본부 to help donors, by, for instance, helping the funeral service and supporting the bereaved. Other hospitals that have not signed an agreement with the KODP also have their guidelines in supporting funeral for organ donors,” a KCDC official told Korea Biomedical Review.

Although the primary structure of the guidelines is similar, minor aspects may differ, and this might make the bereaved feel like they have been mistreated, he added.

After the report, the KCDC has begun to work out an integrated guideline, which can adequately care for both the organ donors and the bereaved, and to honor the noble sacrifice the donors make.

Copyright © KBR Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution prohibited