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 curre nt state of organ transplantation in Japan and presents results from a recently conducted survey regarding attitudes toward the removal of o rgans from brain-dead donors, and potential methods of allocating thos e 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 o f 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 t o donate organs. In addition, younger respondents and male respondents were more likely to support programs and donate organs. Implications of these results are discussed.