Naofumi Nagasue was the first in Japan to perform living donor liver transplantation. A part of his father's liver was transplanted into a 1-year-old boy who could have died at any time.
The boy recovered enough to be transferred to a general ward, but then his health deteriorated and he died 285 days after the surgery. Liver transplants have not been performed at Shimane University since then, but this year they will restart for the first time in 35 years.