Obstacles to brain death and organ transplantation in Japan

Abstract

In Japan neither the concept of brain death nor the practice of organ\ntransplantation are accepted. I would like to explain the cultural background\nto this resistance....In the face of such paternalistic decision making in\nmedicine and government the discussion of Japanese culture in a narrow sense\n-- such as its approach to life and death as seen in the minutiae of ancient\nreligions -- is good only for academicians. Policy makers and doctors should\nestablish an open system to assess new medical procedures. Without it the\npublic will not, and should not, trust the medical profession to make\nimportant decisions about interventions into life and death.