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Japanese Mob Boss Gave $100K to UCLA

Goto rewards hospital after controversial kidney transplant

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted May 31, 2008 4:01 PM CDT
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(Newser) – Suspected Japanese mob boss Tadmasa Goto donated $100,000 to UCLA just months after getting a liver transplant there, the Los Angeles Times reports. Goto was treated in 2001, a year when 186 people died waiting for livers in the LA area alone. The school has confirmed Goto’s donation, but insists it did not influence the decision to treat him.

Another suspected mob member also got a liver and also made a healthy donation. News of the treatments broke Thursday, sparking a hail of criticism. Senator Charles Grassley vowed to investigate, saying he was “worried about the credibility of the transplant system.” Some fear that donors are less likely to give organs that may go to foreigners or crooks.

This June 4, 2007 file photo released by UCLA shows an exterior view of the new Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.
This June 4, 2007 file photo released by UCLA shows an exterior view of the new Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.   (AP Photo)
Security guards stand outside of the ambulance entrance to the at the UCLA Medical Center emergency room in Los Angeles on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2008.
Security guards stand outside of the ambulance entrance to the at the UCLA Medical Center emergency room in Los Angeles on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2008.   (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg)
UCLA says the donations it received from Goto played no role in his transplant.
UCLA says the donations it received from Goto played no role in his transplant.   (Shutterstock)
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