Caring Beyond Organ Donation... Gwangsan District in Gwangju Launches Korea's First Comprehensive Support System

Support Across Seven Areas, from Psychological and Legal Aid to Funeral Services and Daily Life Recovery

Gwangsan District in Gwangju is establishing a comprehensive support system for organ donors and their bereaved families and will push ahead with related support programs. It is the first policy of its kind in the country, covering everything from psychological, legal, and funeral support to helping living donors return to everyday life.

On the 24th, Gwangsan District announced that it had prepared a comprehensive support system to reduce the burden experienced by donors and their families during and after the organ donation process and to strengthen social recognition for the act of sharing life.

Gwangju Gwangsan-gu Office.

According to statistics from the Korea Organ, Tissue & Blood Management Institute, the number of organ donors in Korea decreased from 3,063 in 2020 (478 brain-dead donors and 2,585 living donors) to 2,377 in 2024 (397 brain-dead donors and 1,980 living donors. Living donations made through family members or acquaintances account for more than 80% of all cases.

In the Gwangju area, there were a total of 294 organ donors over the past four years (from 2022 to October 2025), of which 248 were living donors, accounting for more than 80%. In Gwangsan District, there were 79 donors in total, including 66 living donors.

The number of patients on the organ transplant waiting list increased from 35,852 in 2020 to 45,567 in 2024 and 46,935 as of August 2025, but donations have stagnated. As a result, the number of patients who died while waiting rose from 2,191 in 2020 to 3,096 in 2024.

Gwangsan District believes that this situation is linked to the reality that donors and their families must shoulder the burden after donation, and will therefore provide comprehensive support in areas such as funerals, psychological care, legal services, and medical care. In particular, the scope of support has been expanded to include living donors and their families, who have long been pointed out as being in a blind spot.

The detailed projects are organized into seven areas, including daily life support, psychological and mental counseling, legal assistance, and funeral honors. During the recovery process of living donors, the district will provide care services such as household support, assistance with physical activities, accompaniment on outings, and nutritious meals, while connecting them with professional counseling for depression or anxiety. It will also support legal counseling on matters such as inheritance and insurance procedures after donation.

The district will also hold small concerts and carry out organ donation promotion activities to spread a culture of sharing life. It plans to operate a "simplified application" service linked with 21 neighborhood (dong) administrative welfare centers so that any resident can easily apply for organ donation at the nearest center.

Gwangsan District will sign business cooperation agreements in March with organizations such as the Korea Organ Donation Agency (KODA) and Gwangju Urban Corporation, and will begin by sequentially implementing projects that can be put into practice immediately.

District Mayor Park Byeonggyu said, "We will take the lead in spreading a culture of sharing life so that what remains for donors and their families, who have made such a noble decision, is not loneliness but pride."