"As a company that researches and supplies products that rebuild patients' damaged tissue using donated human tissue, we believe that properly communicating the meaning of donation to society is also a responsibility of companies working in regenerative medicine."
Lee Hwan-chul, CEO of L&C Bio (290650), said in an interview with the Seoul Economic Daily on the 14th that "the attitude of viewing human tissue not as a simple raw material but as a life resource that begins with one person's noble donation must be the foundation of every process."
Lee leads L&C Bio, a company specializing in human tissue reconstruction, and is spearheading research and development of tissue grafts as well as the expansion of its global business. Human tissue grafts are medical products made by safely processing donated skin, bone and cartilage to reinforce or replace damaged tissue, and their applications are widening in regenerative medicine to improve patients' lives.
Lee's management philosophy holds that spreading a culture of donation is not merely a corporate social responsibility activity but a duty of companies participating in the human tissue industry. "It is a company's responsibility to manage donated tissue safely and ethically, deliver it to patients, and work with specialized institutions to convey accurate information," Lee said repeatedly.
To improve public awareness of donation culture and to establish respect for donors and their bereaved families as part of its corporate culture, L&C Bio last year ran the "Better Life Together" campaign with the Korea Organ Donation Agency and the Korea Public Tissue Bank. The campaign consisted of education and public outreach designed to convey the meaning of organ and tissue donation in accessible terms and to broaden public participation. "In the past, our employees viewed human tissue from the perspectives of product development, quality control and sales," Lee said. "What made the campaign meaningful was that it helped build an organizational culture in which respect for donors and their families is recognized as the starting point of our work."
In the second half of this year, the company plans to spread a culture of giving the gift of life with a focus on medical professionals. "One of L&C Bio's greatest assets is its network of medical professionals across various fields, including plastic surgery, dermatology, orthopedics and general surgery," Lee said. "Rather than one-way promotion aimed at the general public, having medical professionals understand the meaning of the gift of life and convey it to patients and their families can be more effective in spreading a culture of donation."
