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Legal and political suggestions to ensure the health and self-determination of living organ donors : Focused on the Kidney donors

  • Journal of the Korea Bioethics Association
  • 2019, 20(1), pp.25-44
  • DOI : 10.37305/JKBA.2019.06.20.1.25
  • Publisher : The Korean Bioethics Association
  • Research Area : Interdisciplinary Studies > Interdisciplinary Research
  • Received : May 27, 2019
  • Accepted : June 25, 2019
  • Published : June 30, 2019

Sujung Yoo 1,  Bomyee Lee 1,  PARK SO YOUN 1

1경희대학교

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ABSTRACT

With increased prevalence of chronic diseases as a result of increased lifespan and aging of population, the number of people waiting for kidney transplantation is consistently on the rise. Due to the low brain-dead donor rate in Korea, living kidney transplantation has been considered an alternative. However, living kidney donors have no medical benefits from the transplantation and instead exposed to a risk, so multilateral—ethical, medical, and legal—discussions are crucial regarding its implementation. Nevertheless, the diverse physical, psychological, and socioeconomic risks facing living kidney donors before and after organ donation have not been reviewed with significance in Korea. Therefore, this article proposes the following legal and political suggestions for a comprehensive and systematic management, from pre-donation protection of living kidney donors to fully informed consent for organ donation and follow-up care for post-donation health management. First, to ensure the compatibility of living kidney donors and minimize the risk of organ donation, specific guidelines for feasible pre-donation compatibility test process and medical assessment criteria should be set based on relevant literature and transplantation outcomes. Second, to ensure that living kidney provide their consent for organ transplantation based on sufficient information, standardized consent forms should be prepared and provided for each organ that contains information about medical recommendations, such as post-donation health management plans and care, in addition to the essential information stipulated by the Organ Transplantation Act. Third, a specific procedure should be set to ensure autonomous decision-making and confidentiality of potential kidney donors during the process of providing consent and receiving results after a physical examination. Fourth, it is necessary to seek financial support for post-donation health care of living kidney donors. Finally, for systematic health care after donation of living kidney donors, it is necessary to prepare post-care and long-term tracking observation programs.

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