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 Dr. 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]