Relatives of a woman who carried an organ donor card refused to allow her organs to be removed after she was declared brain dead in mid-December following a traffic accident, sources at the Japan Organ Transplant Network said Monday.
The kidneys and heart valves of the 48-year-old woman from Osaka Prefecture were removed Monday for transplants after her heart stopped, the sources said.
She is the 46th brain-dead patient holding the Health and Welfare Ministry donor card since the Organ Transplant Law took effect in October 1997, according to the government-backed organization.
No transplants from the 46 have taken place for several reasons, the sources said. The woman was the second case in which the family's objection prevented removal of organs from brain-dead people who have indicated wishes to be donors.
The woman was hit by a motorcycle while riding her bicycle Dec. 17. She was declared brain dead after being transferred to an Osaka Prefectural emergency center in Takatsuki.