The Validity Evaluation of Organ Donation at Ajou University Hospital -The role of medical social worker-

Abstract

The organ transplantation process requires the interdisciplinary team approach,

including the trans-plantation-surgery doctor, the nurse, the coordinator, the medical social worker, etc. Because the legislation of the organ transplantation and "brain death" remains under consideration, we have still some arguments on legal, social, and ethical issues of organ transplantation, especially in Korea.

In this study, we analyse the 29 cases of validity evaluation of donation, and 28

donors who voluntarily registered for organ donation. Also we review the role of

medical social worker in the organ transplantation team and the social work process in the live organ donation and cadaveric donation. To prevent anticipating problems with social, legal and ethical issue, as a member of the organ trans- plantation team, the medical social worker verities the validity of unrelated donation, gets the informed consent from the family of the brain death patient and tries to exclude the commercialism of transplantation. In addition, the medical social worker can extend the mood of altruistic donation and encourage the people to do tole valid donation for the helpless chronic patients.