Okayama University Hospital performed the world’s first successful transplant that combined the upper lobes of the left and right lung from a brain-dead donor into one to create a left lung for a brain-dead donor lung transplant. The surgery was performed by Professor Takahiro Oto from the Transplantation Center and started at 1:25 p.m. on July 1 and lasted for approximately 9 hours. A double-lung transplant was initially considered, but the lower lobes of the donor’s lungs were not in a good condition, so a decision was made to create one left lung out of the upper lobes from both lungs which were functioning sufficiently.

At the press conference held on the 2nd, Professor Oto stated, “Japan has a low rate of organ donation from brain-dead patients and not a single organ can be wasted. We need to use the precious organs that are donated and decrease the number of transplants that we must forgo.”