Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 28, 2025
Study of Experimental Organ Donation Models for Lung Transplantation
Published on: March 15, 2024
Effect of revised organ transplant law in Japan on lung transplantation
Yoshito Imamura1,2, Daisuke Nakajima3, Takashi Kanou4
1Department of Thoracic Surgery, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, 54 Shogoin-Kawahara-Cho, Sakyo-Ku, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan.
Purpose:
To investigate how revision of the organ transplant law in Japan affected lung transplantation in this country.
Methods:
Lung transplant candidates registered between January, 2000 and December, 2009 were designated as the pre-revision group (n = 396) and those registered between January, 2011 and December, 2020, as the post-revision group (n = 1326). Both groups were analyzed retrospectively using data collected by the Japanese Society of Lung and Heart-Lung Transplantation.
Results:
The number of patients who underwent brain-dead donor lung transplantation (BDLT) increased significantly after the law amendment (32.2 vs. 13.8%, p < 0.01). The median waiting time for BDLT was significantly reduced (708 days vs. 1163 days, p < 0.01) and the mortality rate while waiting for BDLT improved significantly after the law amendment (33.1 vs. 42.6%, p < 0.01). In the post-revision group, 18 pediatric patients underwent BDLT. The 5-year survival rates after BDLT were comparable between the groups (73.5% in the pre-revision group vs. 73.2% in the post-revision group, p = 0.32).
Conclusions:
The organ transplant law revision shortened the waiting time for BDLT significantly and decreased the mortality rate while waiting for BDLT. The posttransplant outcomes in Japan remained favorable throughout the study period.
