Brain-Dead Organ Donors in Japan Hit Record High of 134

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:06 JST, December 1, 2025

The number of organ donations from brain-dead donors this year hit a record high of 134 as of Nov. 30, according to the Japan Organ Transplant Network (JOT).

It is believed that the increase is partly due to the public’s greater awareness of organ transplants and progress has been made regarding the government’s financial support for medical institutions that can declare brain deaths.

Compared with overseas organ donation numbers, Japan remains low, and thus more effort is needed to increase the different types of organ donations.

The JOT announced Saturday that a girl under the age of 6 who was hospitalized in a Fukuoka city government-run children’s hospital was declared brain dead, becoming this year’s 133rd donor under the revised Law on Organ Transplantation.

The number of donors surpassed 132 in 2023, setting a new record.

On Sunday, a boy under 18 was declared brain dead, bringing the number to 134.

When the law enabling organ transplants from brain-dead people was enforced in 1997, the patients’ declaration of intent and other strict conditions were necessary.

Thus, the annual number of organ donations had initially been only a few.

The revised law enforced in 2010 made it so that organ transplants from brain-dead people were possible with only the approval from the patients’ family members. Since then, the number of organ donations has gradually increased.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has taken such measures as dispatching doctors from medical institutions that have much experience handling organ donations from brain-dead donors to institutions with less experience. The ministry also increased the amount paid to hospitals for organ donation medical services.

However, the number of organ donors per million population in Japan was 1.13 in 2024. The number was much lower than the 49.70 in the United States and 7.75 in South Korea.

“The importance of organ transplantation operations that can save lives has spread [in society],” said Prof. Minoru Ono of the University of Tokyo, who heads the Japan Society for Transplantation. “I hope more people will want to take part in organ transplantation in the event that they or one of their family members are declared brain-dead.”