509 Give Up on Organ Transplants in Japan Last Year

Tokyo, Sept. 24 (Jiji Press)--A total of 509 patients in Japan gave up on organ transplant operations last year because hospitals were unable to carry out such procedures, a health ministry survey showed Tuesday.

It was the first time the government conducted a fact-finding survey on the matter.

The survey analyzed the reasons why transplant operations were not carried out for 192 organs from 131 people declared brain-dead.

A total of 3,706 people could not receive transplant operations last year, including 509 cases caused by reasons attributed to hospitals, such as the lack of hospital staff and insufficient space in intensive care units needed for operations.

The 509 people comprised 53 who gave up on transplants of hearts, 364 of lungs, 15 of livers, 55 of pancreases, five of kidneys and 17 of small intestines.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]