Abstract
Until the development of artificial organs reaches a point where they are clinically viable, organ transplantation remains the final choice of treatment for patients with irreversible organ failure. Organ transplantation is often the only treatment of choice in pediatric medicine, where dealing with congenital organ abnormalities is perhaps the major focus.
While kidney transplants from both living and dead donors and partial liver transplants from living donors are clinically performed, the hard reality is that heart transplants and lung transplants, the most important in pediatric medicine, are not being performed in Japan. Japanese pediatric patients head overseas, dependent on transplantation medicine elsewhere. The elements and conditions of the size and functional status of the donated organ are considerably different in pediatric patients than in adults. Even when you just consider the physical size of the organ to be transplanted, the need to have organ donors who are children themselves is clear.
There are singular problems to be addressed in pediatric medicine. There is however, no brain death standard for children below age 6, and the actual performance of organ transplantation in children below age 15 is almost impossible. The problems of organ transplantation in children, including transplantation overseas, are discussed.
