Society

NPO director gets 8 months prison for unauthorized organ transplants

TOKYO, Nov 28 (News On Japan) - The Tokyo District Court has handed down an 8-month prison sentence to a director of a non-profit organization (NPO) for illegally mediating organ transplants overseas.

The 63-year-old director of the NPO "Support Group for Patients with Intractable Diseases," has been charged with arranging kidney and liver transplant surgeries in Belarus for two patients without permission two years ago. He allegedly received about 50 million yen in transplant fees and other expenses and had pleaded not guilty throughout the trial.

In today's verdict, the Tokyo District Court ruled that "recruiting transplant candidates in Japan and coordinating with medical institutions abroad constituted mediation activities."

The court affirmed that the director had sufficient opportunity to be aware of the illegal nature of his actions, and sentenced him to 8 months in prison, while the NPO was fined 1 million yen.

After the verdict was announced, the director declared his intention to appeal, saying, "I will appeal the decision today."

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