Japan Logs 1,000th Organ Donation by Brain-Dead People

From Jiji

October 28 2023

WESTERN JAPAN – Japan has marked the 1,000th case of organ donations from brain-dead people since the country’s organ transplant law came into force in 1997, the Japan Organ Transplant Network said Saturday. 

The 1,000th case involved a man in his 60s who has been declared brain-dead at a hospital in western Japan based on the law, according to the network.

While the number of organ donations from brain-dead people has been on the rise, there are still a shortage of donors as less than 3 pct of patients seeking organs have actually received transplants. Japan’s first organ transplant from a brain-dead person was conducted in 1999.

Initially, the annual number of organ donations was three to 13, as the law required people to document that they wish to become donors while they were still alive.