Following criticism that protection of privacy was lacking when organs were donated in late February in the nation's first legal transplants involving a brain-dead patient, cautious steps have been taken to avoid an excessive release of information on the second such donor.
Almost no personal details of the donor have been released to the press. "The patient is a man in his 30s, and he was declared legally brain dead at 3:25 a.m.," Health and Welfare Ministry officials said in a statement Wednesday morning.
When Yukio Asaura, head of the ministry's organ transplant section, and Japan Organ Transplant Network official Tatsuro Mori faced reporters at 5 a.m., both looked exhausted and spoke in low tones. "We hope the soul of the patient rests in peace, and we extend our deepest sympathy to the bereaved," Asaura said ahead of reading out a statement regarding the time of the patient's death.