A Liberal Democratic Party panel drafted a bill Wednesday that would allow doctors to transplant the organs of brain-dead people to others if the family agrees and the donor has not expressed an aversion to such a procedure.
Panel members said they will discuss the bill at a bioethics panel of lawmakers from various parties to obtain a consensus on the revision of the current law.
The bill would then be submitted to the Diet around March, they said.
It is aimed at boosting the number of donors by abolishing a requirement under the current law that stipulates that would-be donors state their will in a written document.
If it clears the Diet, the legislation would also allow people under age 15 to donate organs. Under the current law, children with serious heart disease cannot receive heart transplants because it bans donations from this age group.