Buying Time

5 June, 2007

SUMMARY

For a 55-years-old Tokyo man, 34-year-old Filipino donated his kidney two years ago was a matter of life and death. Like that donor, most of donors are poverty-stricken and they sell their organs in order to earn money to survive or keep their family. Japan has the law stipulates that live donors can only give their organs to family members and there is a serious shortage of organs. So Japanese renal disease patients are increasingly seeking help overseas, mostly in Agian countries for all that they risk violating a Japanese law that bans them from purchasing organs, not just in Japan but anywhere abroad. Critics say the debate must be framed not just in terms of efforts to make more organs lawfully available for patients, but also in terms of the global fight against poverty.

BY HIROSHI ISHIZUKA AND AYA KIMURA THE ASAHI SHIMBUN 06/05/2007
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200706050101.html