Every September 9th is Organ Donation Day...Korea's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Proceeds with Psychological Healing Support Activities for Donors' Families
Sep 10, 2025
|
According to the 「2024 Annual Report on Donation and Transplantation Statistics」 published by the National Institute of Organ Tissue Blood Management of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the total number of organ donors in 2024 was 3,931, down 11.3% from the previous year. Among them, brain death donations decreased by 17.8% to 397, and 45,595 people were waiting for organ transplants. The average waiting time for patients is more than four years, indicating that the imbalance between supply and demand is deepening. In particular, the rate of donation of brain-dead donors per 1 million people in Korea in 2024 is 7.75, which is significantly lower than in major countries such as Spain (53.93) and the United States (49.7). This reality further highlights the spread of organ donation culture and the need for social support.
Since 2008, the Love Organ Donation Movement Headquarters has designated September 9th every year as 'Organ Donation Day' and has continued various activities to improve awareness to spread the correct donation and transplantation culture. In particular, the family of brain-dead organ donors, 'Donor Family', operates psychological healing and respectful programs to find emotional stability in social respect and comfort, spreading the value of life sharing.
To participate in these efforts, Korea Takeda Pharmaceutical launched a campaign to wish to achieve 3 million people who would like to donate organs in 2023, and delivered psychological healing support kits and help books to 200 bereaved families in 2024, honoring the will of donors and setting up a place for exchanges with bereaved families. This year, the support target was expanded to 300 households to honor the noble choices of donors and to help the bereaved families mourn and heal.
The commemorative and healing kit includes a magnetic name badge engraved with the donor's name and a letter booklet containing the donor's gratitude. In particular, the magnetic badge was designed to be attached to the back of the 'brain organ donor memorial space' created in Boramae Park in Seoul, and the attachment process was directly participated by the bereaved family. Through this, the donor's sublime choices were honored in the family's own way and remembered for a long time in a social space.
In addition, this program focuses on healing the deep longing and sadness that bereaved families experience in certain events where their families gather, such as the donor's anniversary and holidays. The experience of attaching a badge with the donor's name or receiving a thank-you letter from the transplant helps the bereaved family confirm that the donor's will is socially respected, leading to pride in the value of life sharing.
Kim Na-kyung takes over in Korea"The dedication of the donors who practiced the value of life sharing and the bereaved families who continue to fulfill their will is a spirit that our society must respect and remember for a long time," said the head of the pharmaceutical rare disease business division. "This activity, which has been going on for three consecutive years, will help the bereaved families gain greater comfort and pride and help the culture of organ donation take root in our society as a whole."Pharmaceuticals will continue to make continuous efforts in the future."
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
