A Japanese hospital said Monday it has performed a living kidney transplant between a same-sex couple, a procedure typically limited to patients with a family member donor.
While there have been previous cases of living kidney transplants being conducted between same-sex couples, it is believed to be the first time such a procedure has been publicly disclosed in Japan, according to Kyoto University Hospital.
Takashi Kobayashi, a professor at the university who performed the surgery, said that the case could “become a valuable precedent for patients who have given up (on getting a living transplant) because they are a sexual minority.”
“We hope this can become a beacon of hope for patients who have given up on getting a transplant,” the same-sex couple said in a statement.
The ethics guidelines of the Japan Society for Transplantation limit living donors to spouses, blood relatives within six degrees of consanguinity, and in-laws within three. Non-related donors must be approved by the medical institution’s ethics committee on an individual basis.
Marriage equality remains unrecognized by the Japanese government.
Given that the donor in this case was considered a third party, the hospital’s ethics committee conducted a thorough review before proceeding.
Documentation, such as results from psychiatric evaluations confirming the voluntary nature of the donation and the couple’s partnership oath, were submitted to the ethics committee. The procedure was also approved by the Japan Society for Transplantation’s ethics committee in January.
“I believe the declaration under the partnership system became strong evidence to confirm free will and prove that their relationship was equivalent to that of a married couple,” said Kobayashi.
According to the hospital, the couple had been living together since March 2019, with their partnership oath accepted by the Kyoto city government in August 2023.
The woman was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure around 2022 and required dialysis starting in January this year. The surgery was performed in May, with both individuals in good condition and already returned to daily life.
While there are ethical concerns over performing surgery on a healthy donor, living organ transplants are more common in Japan than transplants from a brain-dead or cardiac-arrest donor, according to the Japan Society for Transplantation.
