Japan to Lift Organ Donation Curbs on Europe Stayers

From Jiji

April 15 2026

TOKYO – Japan’s health ministry decided on Wednesday to lift restrictions on organ donations from individuals who have stayed in Europe, a measure introduced to combat variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). 
   The change is expected to take effect as early as this autumn.
   The disease is a neurological disorder believed to be caused by mad cow disease, formally called bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, which spread mainly in Britain in the late 1980s.
   Previously, the ministry restricted blood donations from people who had stayed in Britain or elsewhere in Europe between 1980 and 2004 and imposed similar restrictions on organ donations.
   In January, the ministry decided to remove restrictions on blood donations in response to a decline in the number of vCJD cases and the elimination of similar measures in other countries.