A man waiting for a kidney transplant but who was declared brain dead became a donor himself Sunday when his pancreas was transplanted in accordance with his wishes, medical sources said.
It is the first time in Japan that a person who had been hoping for a transplant became a donor, according to the Japan Organ Transplant Network, which arranges transplants.
The man, in his 50s, was admitted to Kagoshima City Hospital due to a brain hemorrhage and was pronounced brain dead Saturday afternoon.