Japan Probing Sale of Kidneys in Philippines
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TOKYO — The government is investigating reports that Filipino donors were paid to give up a kidney for Japanese patients willing to pay the price, an official said today.
The Health and Welfare Ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the ministry started the investigation after reports that a Filipino prison inmate was paid to donate a kidney to a 51-year-old Japanese man in June.
“Our position is that the sale of kidneys by unrelated living donors is undesirable, and at this point we are trying to confirm those reports,” the official said.
A person can live with one healthy kidney.
The Japanese government is also investigating whether to ask the Philippines to ban such operations there on Japanese citizens, the official said.
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