Abstract
In 2010, the Japanese transplant law was revised so that a pediatric brain-dead donor could be accepted for transplantations. However, until now a pediatric lung transplantation has never been performed from brain dead pediatric donor in Japan.
As of April 2014, lung transplantations have been performed in 367 patients in Japan. Among them, 42 recipients (11.4%) were children under the age of 16 years. Thirty-nine of them (92.9%) received a living-donor lobar lung transplantation.
The author's personal experience included 22 pediatric patients who underwent single (n=12) or bilateral (n=10) living-donor lobar lung transplantation. The 5-year survival rate was 80%, much better than the rate reported by ISHLT.
Living-donor lobar lung transplantation is a viable option for pediatric patients. Efforts should be directed to increase brain-dead donors for pediatric patients who do not find suitable living-donors.
