Background: Analyzing the attitudes toward organ donation and the factors that influence such attitudes is fundamental to improving the quality of management for the process of brain dead organ donation. Methods: We interviewed 23 primary carers of donors after a minimum period of one year post organ donation from a single hospital, from 2008 to 2011. This telephone survey analyzed factors including relationship with the donor and the impact of such factors on making the decision for donation and attitude towards organ donation. Results: With respect to the carers' relationship with the donor, seven carers who participated in the interview were spouses (30.4%), six were parents (26.0%), three were offspring (13.0%), and seven were siblings (30.4%). Ten of the decision makers (43.4%) were not legal priority holders. Twenty-two interviewees (95.6%) experienced no regret for their decision to go through with the donation. Fifteen participants (65.1%) were willing to donate their own organs in case of brain death, and the favorability towards organ donation was significantly related to the satisfaction with their experience of medical services during the process of organ donation. Conclusions: Organ donation after brain death is still viewed favorably by carers even after the bereavement period. Positive attitude and favorability toward organ donation were significantly related to the satisfaction with the medical service. We suggest interventions to improve the quality of medical services in order to promote organ donation.

Background: Analyzing the medical expenses of the family members of brain dead organ donors would be helpful in ascertaining better ways of applying national assistance, which is important for promotion of brain dead organ donation.Methods: We collected data regarding the medical expenses of 119 brain dead organ donors from January 2009 to December 2013 at a single institution that specializes in organ donation. Donation year, cause of brain death, age, and admission days were deemed factors affecting medical expenses, and these were analyzed. Medical expenses were compared with national assistance (maximum of 1.8 million Korean won [KRW]).Results: Average age of donors was 42.7 years, and, in the older age group, there was a lower average for medical expenses (P=0.025). Brain dead organ donations that were consented to within 2 days after the brain death comprised 41.2%, and medical expenses increased as the consent days were delayed (P＜0.001). Average medical expense for donor families was 2,161,297 KRW, and the average national assistance to the families was 577,056 KRW. The medical expenses of 73 donors (61.3%) were below the national assistance maximum; 19 (16.0%) had no charges of their own with other insurance coverage.Conclusions: National assistance for medical expenses to family members of brain dead organ donors is necessary in Korea, where the rate of brain dead organ donation is very low. As 61% of donors were covered below the maximum assistance amount, there could be additional ways to utilize the remaining budget.