Yakuza got UCLA liver transplants

LOS ANGELES – A Los Angeles hospital provided liver transplants to four Japanese gang figures, including one of Japan’s most powerful gang bosses, over a period when several hundred area patients died while awaiting transplants, according to a published report.

The surgeries were performed at UCLA Medical Center by world-renowned liver surgeon Dr. Ronald W. Busuttil, executive chairman of UCLA’s surgery department, the Los Angeles Times reported in a story posted on its Web site Thursday night. The Times cited a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The surgeries were performed between 2000 and 2004, and in each of those years more than 100 patients died awaiting liver transplants in the greater Los Angeles region, according to the Times.

There is no indication UCLA or Busuttil knew any of the patients had ties to Japanese gangs, known as yakuza, the Times reported.

U.S. transplant rules do not prohibit hospitals from performing transplants on foreign patients or those with criminal histories.