Brain-Dead Organ Donors Hit Record High in Fy2024; Only 1 in 3 Relevant Institutions Have Experience in Organ Donation

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:38 JST, June 4, 2025

The number of patients declared brain dead who donated at least one organ rose to a record 139 in fiscal 2024, up 23 from the previous fiscal year, Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Takamaro Fukuoka said at the House of Councillors’ Health, Labor and Welfare Committee on Tuesday.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry partly attributes this rise to an initiative supporting medical institutions with limited experience in organ donation. A record high has been marked for three consecutive years.

A single brain-dead donor can provide up to seven organs. From the 139 patients, there were 119 liver donations, 116 for hearts, 115 for kidneys, 106 for lungs, 55 for corneas, 46 for pancreases and two small intestine donations. As of the end of fiscal 2024, the cumulative number of such donors was 1,181 since the Organ Transplants Law came into force in 1997.

Meanwhile, the number of patients whose organs were donated after circulatory death in fiscal 2024 was nine, down six from the previous fiscal year.

Of about 900 medical institutions nationwide capable of organ donation, only about one-third have actual experience.

Currently, a ministry-organized program is in place in which 31 medical institutions across the country experienced in organ donation advise nearby institutions lacking such experience.

“Through receiving instruction, medical institutions that lack confidence are gradually engaging in organ donation efforts,” a ministry official said.