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The severity of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has discouraged organ donation. However, the prevalence of COVID-19 in Korea was much lower in comparison to Western countries. With this, the authors decided to determine the real-world impact of COVID-19 on organ donation and transplantation in Korea.The number of kidney transplantations (KTs) and liver transplantations (LTs) performed in 2020 were compared with those in 2019 using the Korean Network for Organ Sharing database and Asan Medical Center (AMC) database.The annual number of deceased donors (DDs) was 450 in 2019 compared to 478 in 2020. Monthly DD number was 37.5±5.9 in 2019 and 39.8±4.4 in 2020 (P=0.284). Annual number of DD kidney transplant (DDKT) was 794 in 2019 and 848 in 2020, and monthly number was 66.1±10.4 in 2019 and 70.7±9.8 in 2020 (P=0.285). The annual number of DDLT was 391 in 2019 and 395 in 2020, and the monthly number was 32.6±5.7, 2019 and 32.9±4.7 in 2020 (P=0.877). The annual number of living donor (LD) KT was 2,293 in 2019 and 1,432 in 2020, and the monthly number was 191.1±19.5 in 2019 and 119.3±11.7 in 2020 (P0.001). Annual number of living donor LDLT was 1,577 in 2019 and 1,146 in 2020, and monthly number was 131.4±18.1 in 2019 and 95.5±8.0 in 2020 (P0.001). In the AMC, not all types of KT and LT changed significantly.The results of this study indicate that the number of DD organ transplantations remained stable in Korea in 2020, but the number of LD organ transplantations was significantly reduced. However, the number of organ transplantations did not change in the AMC.

The Korean model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score-based liver allocation system was started in June 2016 in Korea.This study analyzed the detailed allocation results of deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT) during the first 2 years after the MELD score-based liver allocation system implementation at a high-volume liver transplantation (LT) center in Korea.This study included 174 patients with age above 12 years. The patient ABO blood groups were A (n=65, 37.4%), B (n=51, 29.3%), O (n=28, 16.1%), and AB (n=30, 17.2%). The LT types were primary LT in 141 patients (81.0%) and retransplantation in 33 (19.0%). The Korean Network for Organ Sharing status categories at LT were as follows: status 1 (n=11, 6.3%), status 2 (n=82, 47.1%), status 3 (n=63, 36.2%), and status 4 (n=18, 10.3%). The mean MELD score at LT and waiting period were 36.6±4.6 and 62.1±98.2 days in blood group A; 37.6±3.6 and 25.7±38.1 days in blood group B; 38.8±2.7 and 26.0±30.5 days in blood group O; and 34.8±5.5 and 68.4±110.5 days in blood group AB (P0.001 and P=0.012), respectively. Patients with blood group O and AB had the highest and lowest mean MELD scores at LT allocation, respectively.Serious deceased organ donor shortage resulted in very high MELD score cutoffs for DDLT allocation. Additionally, a significant inequality was observed in the possibility for DDLT according to blood group compatibility. Nationwide follow-up studies are necessary to precisely determine the allocation status of DDLT.

Background: The waitlist period for kidney transplantation (KT) has been increasing due to intractable shortage of brain-dead donors in Korea. To solve this organ shortage issue, KT cases with expanded criteria brain-dead donor (ECD) organs have been increasing. This study intended to analyze the willingness of waitlist patients to undergo KT with ECD in a single institution in or der to use as the basic data for selecting and managing patients waiting for deceased donor KT (DDKT). Methods: We carried out a survey with 1,069 patients who were enrolled at the waitlist for DDKT from 2015 to 2019 at a single in stitution. They were asked whether they were willing to undergo KT with ECD of type 1 and 2. The answers were analyzed through descriptive statistics. ECD type 1: age over 60 years, but serum creatinine is normal (