Japan to Prioritize High-Risk Patients for Heart Transplants

Tokyo, March 24 (Jiji Press)–Japan will this month begin prioritizing for heart transplants patients who are at high risk of dying within one month without the procedure. The Japanese Circulation Society and the Japanese Society for Heart Transplantation said Monday that they will hold a subcommittee meeting on March 31 to select priority patients. In the country, patients with ventricular assist devices are given the Status 1 priority designation for heart transplants. So far, in cases where multiple Status 1 patients had the same conditions, including age, patients with longer waiting periods were given higher priority, and the urgency of transplants was not included in the prioritization standards. Under the new standards, patients under the age of 60 who are at high risk of dying within a month will be given the Status 1A higher priority designation. This is aimed at reducing deaths of patients waiting for transplants, particularly those at high risk of dying from complications. The Japan Organ Transplant Network, which oversees the allocation of donated organs, has been updating its system after a health ministry panel of experts approved the new standards. The subcommittee will meet once a month and will include at least one official from a medical institution that conducts heart transplants. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]