Calls increase to lift age cap on organ recipients - Japan

Japan Times


Success story: Takahiro Oto, an associate professor at Okayama University, speaks with a woman in Okayama in April after she received a lung from a living donor in February. KYODO

OKAYAMA — Calls are growing to raise the upper age limit of recipients of organ transplants from brain-dead donors as elderly people make up a greater segment of society.

Since a landmark law was enacted in 1997 to facilitate organ transplants from brain-dead people, the opportunity for transplants has increased, improving the survival prospects of people facing the risk of organ failure due to intractable diseases.

However, elderly people have been denied this opportunity as there are age limits for who is allowed to join the transplant waiting list.

The caps are particularly strict for lung and heart transplants, while for other organs there are few age requirements. Patients hoping to receive a lung must be 59 or younger, while the age limit for people requiring two lungs is 54. The upper age limit for a heart transplant is also set at 59 years old.

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