Organ transplanting in Japan: The debate begins

Objectives: Japan is currently considering changing its long-standing policy of banning most organ transplants. This paper reviews the current state of organ transplantation in Japan and presents results from a recently conducted survey regarding attitudes toward the removal of organs from brain-dead donors, and potential methods of allocating those organs in a fair manner. Methods: Survey data were collected by the Research Project Team on Network Systems for Organ Transplants funded by the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare. The sample consisted of 1093 randomly selected citizens. Predictors of attitudes supporting organ transplantation were analyzed using logistic regression. Results: Although many Japanese people support organ transplantation, few are willing to donate their organs. General knowledge of transplantation was the best predictor of support for such a program and willingness to donate organs. In addition, younger respondents and male respondents were more likely to support programs and donate organs. Implications of these results are discussed.