• case 11-year-old Hiroki Ando needs a new heart. The old ticker isn’t working very well. He suffers from the inflammatory heart disease cardiomyopathy, which killed his sister five years ago.
• law However, Ando cannot get a new heart in Japan, where it’s illegal for anyone under the age of 15 to donate organs. People donated $1.7 million, and he’s headed to the U.S. for help.
• why? It’s a major issue in Japan – the public perception of organ transplants has limited them to the point where just 81 have happened since 1997. Thousands happen yearly in the U.S. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • Permalink