South Korean man donates heart, lungs, liver and kidneys, saving five lives

The Korea Organ and Tissue Donation Institute said that on January 30, at Dong-A University Hospital in Busan, 41-year-old Park Seong-bae donated his heart, lungs, liver, and both kidneys after being declared brain-dead, saving five lives.

Park became brain-dead after suffering a severe headache and a sudden decline in consciousness following a night spent at home on January 19. He was transported to the hospital, where doctors and staff carried out aggressive treatment, but his condition did not improve.

Park’s family consented to organ donation after learning there was little chance he would recover, hoping to give others a chance at life. He leaves behind a newborn daughter, about 60 days old, whom his family said they want to remember him by the life-saving act.

The organs were allocated to five recipients: the heart, lungs, liver, and both kidneys. Park was described as the eldest of two children born in Busan, a caring person who looked after those around him and, after work, would take care of his daughter and cradle her to sleep.

Im Hyun-jung, Park’s wife, said in a final message: “Don’t worry. I will love our daughter with all my heart and raise her well. When we meet again, just tell me I did well. I miss you and love you very much.”

The donation underscores Korea’s system in which families must consent to organ donation, with coordination by the Korea Organ and Tissue Donation Institute and transplant centers such as Dong-A University Hospital. For international readers, the case highlights how multi-organ donation can save multiple lives from a single donor, a dynamic also central to waitlists and organ-supply challenges in the United States and elsewhere.