Background: The Korea Organ Donation Agency (KODA) established a department dedicated to donor honor and bereaved family support in 2013. The 2023 amendment of the Organs Transplant Act further provided a legal basis for managing and supporting donors and their families. In this role, KODA collaborates with healthcare institutions and local governments to expand donor honor activities and provide essential bereavement support. This study examined the current status of these programs and proposed strategies to enhance positive donation awareness.
Method: A retrospective review of KODA business reports (2021-2024) was conducted to assess donor honor and bereavement support activities. For bereavement support, online and offline surveys measured family satisfaction in the current year. The effectiveness of professional psychological counseling was evaluated using the CES-D scale, before and after the service.
Result: KODA’s program consists of two main components: donor honor activities and bereavement support services.Donor honor activities include memorial events, discounted cremation fees through local government cooperation, and private donations covering charnel house costs. To promote life-sharing, announcements about donors are made at healthcare facilities during the donation process. A “path of resonance” has also been created, where hospital staff and bereaved families accompany donors to the operating room.Bereavement support services are provided by social workers deployed to healthcare institutions during the donation process. They assist with administrative tasks, including funeral arrangements, and offer structured support for at least 8 months post-donation. Core services include legal and administrative assistance, professional psychological counseling, and self-help or support groups.From 2021 to 2024, bereavement support cases increased from 100 to 239 (2.4-fold). Family satisfaction improved from 80 to 89.4 points. Notably, professional psychological counseling led to a 36.6% reduction in depression among bereaved families.In 2021, a letter exchange program was launched via the revised Organs Transplant Act to meet the longstanding demand for donor families and transplant recipients to communicate. The program allows non-face-to-face online/offline letter exchange and has seen subscriber growth of 217% (78 to 247) and a 454% increase in letters sent (37 to 205) between 2022 and 2024.
Conclusion: KODA enhances positive donation awareness through donor honor and bereavement support programs. Services are tailored to foster psychological stability and facilitate bereaved families' return to daily life. Partnerships with local governments and private organizations are being expanded to strengthen support within limited resources.Since most donor honor activities currently occur within healthcare settings, introducing community-based memorial programs is vital to embed life-sharing values in society. Additionally, further strengthening tailored services to address the diverse needs of bereaved families is essential for advancing the family support system.