Organ transplantation in Japan

Organ transplantation in Japan is regulated by the 1997 Organ Transplant Law which legalized organ procurement from "brain dead" donors.^[1] After an early involvement in organ transplantation that was on a par with developments in the rest of the world, attitudes in Japan altered after a transplant by surgeon Juro Wada in 1968 failed, and a subsequent ban on cadaveric organ donation lasted 30 years. The first transplant after the Organ Transplant Law had defined "brain death" took place in February 1999.^[2]

Due to cultural reasons and a relative distrust of modern medicine, the rate of organ donation in Japan is significantly lower than in Western countries.^[3]

The first organ transplant in Japan took place at Niigata University in 1956 when a kidney was temporarily transplanted to a patient with acute renal failure.^[4] In 1964 a permanent and full-scale kidney transplant was successfully undertaken at the University of Tokyo, and by 1992 nearly 9,000 kidney transplants had taken place.^[5] In the same year, a liver transplant was performed at Chiba University by Professor Komei Nakayama.^[6] The first heart transplant in Japan was conducted at Sapporo Medical University in 1968 by Juro Wada.^[7] This operation attracted concerns that Wada's evaluation of brain death was inappropriate, and even though an investigation of possible criminal liability was dismissed, a distrust of organ transplanting developed, particularly of transplants from brain dead donors. This brought subsequent developments in transplanting to a halt.^[6][8]

The Japanese people's views regarding life, death, ethics and religion have influenced their negative attitude toward organ transplanting. The Wada heart transplant in 1968 increased a sense of apprehension, especially regarding the evaluation of brain death.^[1] The Shinto religion regards death as impure, and has tainted connotations which have carried through into Japanese culture.