A man in his 40s with heart disease has become the second recipient of a heart from a brain-dead donor since Japan's laws were changed in 1997 to allow such operations.
The heart was transplanted from a donor in his 30s. Both the donor and his family gave written consent for the transplant, the Associated Press reported on May 13.
The next day, the recipient of Japan's first heart transplant since enactment of the new law, left the hospital three months after his groundbreaking February transplant. His new heart had been donated by a 44-year-old woman who also gave her liver and kidneys to three other patients. Despite the legality of the procedure, the February operations "caused a media sensation in Japan, prompting worries that the intense attention would discourage other donors," the Associated Press said.
Prior to the change in the law, organs could not be removed in Japan until after the donor's heart stopped beating, which made transplantation impossible in many cases. The only other reported heart transplant in Japan was carried out 31 years ago and led to such an uproar that it was never attempted again until this year.
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