Japanese kidney patient convicted of illegally purchasing organ for transplant

[okarol]

Japanese kidney patient convicted of illegally purchasing organ for transplant

26.12.2006    

A Japanese court on Tuesday found a kidney patient guilty of illegally purchasing the organ for a transplant and ordered him to a suspended prison term in the first conviction under a Japanese organ transplant law, a court official said.

Suzuo Yamashita, 59, was sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for three years, for buying a kidney for a transplant for himself by violating the organ transplant law, said Takaki Matsui, spokesman for the Matsuyama District Court in southwestern Japan.

He said it was the first conviction in Japan under the 1997 law that bans the sale of organs for transplants. The court also sentenced his 60-year-old partner to a suspended one-year prison term for brokering the deal, Matsui said.

Yamashita, who suffers from diabetes, underwent an organ transplant surgery in September after a 59-year-old female agreed to donate her kidney.

The donor, whose name was not released by police, had been separately fined 1 million yen (US$8,400; €6,367) for illegally selling her organ, the official said.

The organ recipient admitted to giving her 300,000 yen (US$2,520; €1,910) in cash and a car worth 1.5 million yen (US$12,610; €9,560) in exchange for her kidney.

The law bans the sale of organs for transplants, and violators can face up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 5 million yen (US$42,000; €31,840).

Judge Kenta Fukui said the recipient's desperation for an organ was understandable but was clearly illegal, Kyodo News agency said. He also called the crime "inevitable" and urged the government to set up stricter guidelines to prevent a recurrence of similar crimes.

The case highlighted Japan's chronic lack of organs, which forces many Japanese to seek operations abroad, often relying on public donations to cover huge medical costs and traveling fees, the AP reports.

In a separate case also in Uwajima, a surgeon recently became under fire after conducting a series of transplants using organs removed from patients of cancer and other illnesses.

Source:    URL: http://english.pravda.ru/hotspots/86122-kidney_transplant-0

[Epoman]

Japanese kidney patient convicted of illegally purchasing organ for transplant

26.12.2006    

A Japanese court on Tuesday found a kidney patient guilty of illegally purchasing the organ for a transplant and ordered him to a suspended prison term in the first conviction under a Japanese organ transplant law, a court official said.

Suzuo Yamashita, 59, was sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for three years, for buying a kidney for a transplant for himself by violating the organ transplant law, said Takaki Matsui, spokesman for the Matsuyama District Court in southwestern Japan.

He said it was the first conviction in Japan under the 1997 law that bans the sale of organs for transplants. The court also sentenced his 60-year-old partner to a suspended one-year prison term for brokering the deal, Matsui said.

Yamashita, who suffers from diabetes, underwent an organ transplant surgery in September after a 59-year-old female agreed to donate her kidney.

The donor, whose name was not released by police, had been separately fined 1 million yen (US$8,400; €6,367) for illegally selling her organ, the official said.

The organ recipient admitted to giving her 300,000 yen (US$2,520; €1,910) in cash and a car worth 1.5 million yen (US$12,610; €9,560) in exchange for her kidney.

The law bans the sale of organs for transplants, and violators can face up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 5 million yen (US$42,000; €31,840).

Judge Kenta Fukui said the recipient's desperation for an organ was understandable but was clearly illegal, Kyodo News agency said. He also called the crime "inevitable" and urged the government to set up stricter guidelines to prevent a recurrence of similar crimes.

The case highlighted Japan's chronic lack of organs, which forces many Japanese to seek operations abroad, often relying on public donations to cover huge medical costs and traveling fees, the AP reports.

In a separate case also in Uwajima, a surgeon recently became under fire after conducting a series of transplants using organs removed from patients of cancer and other illnesses.

Source:    URL: http://english.pravda.ru/hotspots/86122-kidney_transplant-0

Oh man Only US$2,520 and a car, that's way cheaper than Mitch.  He got a suspended sentence, plus the donor was fined as well.

[okarol]

Who's Mitch? I don't know that story. I thought no American citizen has ever been prosecuted. Was that outside the US?

[charee]

Who's Mitch? I don't know that story. I thought no American citizen has ever been prosecuted. Was that outside the US?

Okarol There  is a whole topic on "Mitch"Transplant Surgery abroad is not the same in every country thats what it is called i don't know how to put the link here If you haven't read it its quite an interesting read !

[Epoman]

Who's Mitch? I don't know that story. I thought no American citizen has ever been prosecuted. Was that outside the US?

http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=1334.0

322 posts of DEBATE, compliments of "mitchorganbroker"

[okarol]

ohhh sorry. I am special.
I somehow read that you said that Mitch was fined.
I read so much I can hardly comprehend anything.
I think Mitch is one of the guys that offered me a
kidney for Jenna. I got about 75 offers, about
30% of them were for fame, fortune or a job/visa.
The name seems familiar. Looks like he got bored with
IHD or maybe someone decided they wanted a pound of
flesh for the 1/4 pound of flesh they gave up.

[Epoman]

ohhh sorry. I am special.
I somehow read that you said that Mitch was fined.
I read so much I can hardly comprehend anything.
I think Mitch is one of the guys that offered me a
kidney for Jenna. I got about 75 offers, about
30% of them were for fame, fortune or a job/visa.
The name seems familiar. Looks like he got bored with
IHD or maybe someone decided they wanted a pound of
flesh for the 1/4 pound of flesh they gave up.

No he didn't get bored with IHD, he and I had an agreement that if I gave him his own thread so he could debate his "side", then after the thread ran it's course, he would stop spamming my site. And I must say he has kept his end of the bargin.

- Epoman