[MHLW] New Report Reveals the Status of Organ Transplants
On June 8, 2023, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) published a report on the status of organ transplants. This report is prepared annually by the MHLW and submitted to the Chairman of the Health, Labour and Welfare Committee of the House of Councillors, under a supplementary resolution which was passed by the House of Councillors Special Committee on the Transplantation of Organs when the Organ Transplant Act was established (1997).
The contents of the report are as follows:
| A. Status of organ transplants 1. Number of registered transplant candidates 2. Number of transplants performe 3. Organ donation facilities 4. Transplant facilities 5. Current status of organ procurement and allocation organizations a. Japan Organ Transplant Network b. Eye procurement and allocation organizations B. Results of transplantation C. Initiatives of the MHLW 1. Promoting awareness 2. Appreciation letter by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare 3. Support for organ donation facilities 4. Verification of organ donation cases from brain-dead donors 5. "Recommendations on organ transplant medical policy" and shaking up of organ transplant medical measures in light of the recommendations 6. "Urgent fact-finding survey of patients who have traveled abroad to undergo transplants" [References] ① Changes in the number of organ donations ② Number of registered transplant candidates ③ Number of organ donors and transplants carried out (the left graph shows the number of organ donors; the right shows the number of transplants carried out in each fiscal year.) ④ Number of facilities with a system for organ donation from brain-dead donors (the graph on the left shows the system for organ donation from brain-dead donors in each fiscal year.) ⑤ Status of organ donation declarations |
To give you some idea of the content, the number of registered transplant candidates for each organ as of March 31, 2023, is as follows: （Figures in parentheses represent the same for FY 2021. Prepared by the author of the report.)
| Transplant candidates for each organ | Persons |
| Heart | 891 persons（917 persons） |
| Lung | 530（489） |
| Simultaneous combined heart-lung transplant | 4（4） |
| Liver | 298（285） |
| Kidney | 13,974（13,722） |
| Simultaneous combined liver-kidney transplant | 33（41） |
| Pancreas | 26（38） |
| Simultaneous combined pancreas-kidney transplant | 148 （154） |
| Small intestine | 9（9） |
| Simultaneous combined Liver-small intestine transplant | 0（1） |
| Eye (cornea) | 1,922（1,888） |
| Total | 17,835（17,548） |
*The number of patients registered for combined heart-lung, liver-kidney, pancreas-kidney, and liver-small intestine transplants are not included in the number of patients registered for heart, lung, liver, kidney, pancreas, and small intestine transplants, respectively.
The number of transplants performed in FY2022 is as follows:
| Transplants performed in FY2022 | Cases |
| Heart | 88 （69）, cumulative total：736 |
| Lung | 104（83）, cumulative total：788 |
| Liver | 97（70）, cumulative total：833 |
| Kidney | 215（148）, cumulative total：4,395 |
| Pancreas | 29（31）, cumulative total：501 |
| Small intestine | 4（3）, cumulative total：30 |
| Eye (cornea) | 833（814）, cumulative total：36,036 |
*The cumulative total calculates the number of organ transplants performed between October 16, 1997 (date of entry into force of the Organ Transplantation Act) and March 31, 2023.
For more information, please visit the website below:
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/newpage_33487.html
