Japan Transplant Support Association
“Regulatory reform saves children’s lives”
The Japan Transplant Support Association worked over several years to achieve regulatory reform to allow children under the age of 15 to – with family consent – act as organ donors in Japan and achieved this goal in July 2009. The reform takes effect in July 2010 and the Association is now focused on supporting its implementation, including through educating stakeholders and supporting the families of patients and donors, as well as patients themselves. This support for the implementation of these reforms has been in part been made possible through the funds donated by Fit For Charity Run.
The Japan Transplant Support Association’s Ms. Kazuko Takahashi said, “With the reform, brain death is now recognized as death and – with family consent – children under 15 can act as donors. This reform was a significant success for our Association. However, many of the challenges begin now – without the necessary funding, the support mechanisms will not be in place to implement organ transplant once the new regulation takes effect. Specifically, we aim to educate coordinators and hospitals and other facilities, as well as donor families.”
As part of this effort and partially through the funds donated by FIT For Charity Run, in October 2009 the Japan Transplant Support Association sponsored an event in Yokohama promoting the understanding and acceptance of organ transplant.
Previous to the regulatory reform, under legislation that came into effect in 1997, children in Japan suffering from illness requiring transplant were forced to travel overseas for treatment, due to the lack of appropriate donors within Japan.
The Japan Transplant Support Association is successor to Yuki-kun wo Sukuu-kai, which was established to save the life of Yuki Arimura. Through donations, Yuki was able to travel to the U.S. for a transplant but subsequently tragically passed away. After this, a number of related groups dedicated to patients requiring organ transplant and their families combined and in 2000 became the NPO Japan Transplant Support Association.
