장기이식과 의료윤리

For some patients, transplantation is not a choice but rather an only way of survival. It was 1988, when the first brain death patient s liver was successfully transplanted into an young girl who had been suffered from Wilson s disease. And this epoch-making medical event was overwhelmed by continuing big dispute about passing brain death law in Korea. It took almost 11 years until the brain death law was passed after long discussion. The time when it was difficult to receive a transplantation due to reasons, such as the doctor s inexperience in transplantation, societal indifference, and deficiencies in legal policies, is now of the past. Although two years behind Japan, the law concerning organ transplantation, which includes the Brain Death Law, was passed in February of 1999 and has taken effect a year later in February 9， 2000. Korean Network for Organ Sharing(KONOS) was established at the National Medical Center, and takes official part in enlisting of recipients and distribution of donor organs. Now medical professionals need to focus on preventing the selling of organs, implementing a fair standard of organ distribution and enforcing strict standards in regards to brain death. In this issue, I would like to review the current status of organ transplantation in Korea and also the role of KONOS. Some medicoethical problems will be discussed too.