OSAKA -- The nation's first organ transplants from a legally established brain-dead donor about two weeks ago were conducted strictly on the wishes of the donor and the donor's family, doctors who treated the donor said Monday.
Kingo Nishiyama, head of emergency surgeons at Kochi Red Cross Hospital, told reporters he and transplant coordinators dispatched from the Japan Organ Transplant Network told the family at one point that it might be better to give up the procedure because of the family's fatigue brought on by the media frenzy surrounding the operation. "We made the suggestion because the family seemed to be extremely affected by the media reports. However, the family said they wanted to fully respect the wishes of the patient," Nishiyama said.
The surgeon strongly criticized the media, saying that some reporters even visited the community of the family to question neighbors. The remarks came during a news conference held at an Osaka hotel to make public the procedure and events leading up to tests confirming the brain death of the donor in Kochi Prefecture.