The Daily Yumiuri Shimbun
Implementation of the revised Organ Transplants Law in 2010 has resulted in the number of brain-dead donors surging to 92 in the two years since, including 76 whose organs were donated based solely on their families' consent.
The original law came into force in October 1997 with the aim of enabling organ transplants from brain-dead people in Japan. The law allowed examinations to determine brain death and subsequent organ transplants only if a potential donor had indicated in writing--such as on a donor card--that they would offer their organs if they were declared brain-dead.
Before the system became widely known among the public, only a few people carried donor cards and only a handful of transplants from brain-dead patients were performed each year.
Because brain death had not been considered as "human death" in Japan, the concept of brain death shook many people's view of life and death. To deal with this important issue, the government set up a provisional council to study brain death and organ transplants before drafting the bill. Lawyers, religion scholars and other experts were invited to explore the matter.
The biggest issue discussed at the council was whether to allow relatives to decide whether a brain-dead person would have wanted to donate their organs. Discussions dragged on and a Diet vote on the bill was put off several times. The Diet finally passed the bill, but stipulated that organs could be harvested only from a brain-dead person who had given their consent.
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{Register to be an organ,eye and tissue donor. To learn how, www.donatelife.net or www.organdonor.gov}
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