(Although this news article is about after-death donation rather than living donation I am posting it as it reflects the changing mentality and laws in Japan regarding organ donation.)
Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan, 25 Nov. 2014:
A girl under the age of 6 was declared brain dead at Juntendo University Hospital in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, on Sunday, making her the second child under 6 in the nation to be so diagnosed, according to the Japan Organ Transplant Network.
A number of her organs were harvested at the hospital on Monday morning.
The girl suffered cerebral hypoxia, which occurs when there is an insufficient supply of oxygen to the brain.
Under the revised Organ Transplants Law, which took effect in July 2010, organs can be harvested from children under 15. The girl was the sixth such case in the nation, but only the second child younger than 6.
According to the Network, the girl showed symptoms of brain death on Friday afternoon. Her family offered to donate her organs.
The brains of children under 6 have stronger powers of recovery than adults, so doctors wait at least 24 hours between checks on such children. For those aged 6 or older, the tests take place at intervals of at least six hours.
Topic: Japanese brain-death law (Read 2525 times)