This hospital was established in 1918. It currently has 202 professors/chief physicians and 409 associate professors/associate chief physicians. It has 14 specialists receiving special government allowances from the State Council and many experts with outstanding contributions.141
Although the hospital is approved for only kidney transplants by the Ministry of Health, before 2008 it had already completed transplants of heart, lung, liver, combined pancreas-kidney, and other “firsts” in Changzhou.142
Its urologic surgery department’s website states that it began performing kidney transplants in the 1980s, and that its strength traditionally has been in kidney transplantation. Its cumulative transplant volume is near the top nationwide.143 More than half of its patients come from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Japan, and other Asian-Pacific regions.144
The department’s web page does not contain any information about its bed count or number of medical personnel. Early articles published by its director and hospital president He Xiaozhou, a well-known kidney transplant expert, state that the hospital had completed 1,080 kidney transplants as of 2001; in early 2008, it had reportedly performed more than 1,470 kidney transplants.145 In other words, in the six years after 2001, it performed only 390 kidney transplants, or an average of less than 70 per year. This contrasts sharply with the 2001 figure and is difficult to believe.
The hospital’s website currently shows that it has completed 1,600 transplants (an average of 30 per year), yet claims that its cumulative transplant volume is among the highest in the country.146 Hospital president He Xiaozhou’s web page claims that he had personally led the department in conducting more than 1,700 kidney transplants.147 These numbers are contradictory, and the official totals and annual rates are much too low to be in a leading position in China.
The hepatobiliary surgery department completed Changzhou’s first orthotopic human liver transplant. The department is one of the biggest hepatobiliary treatment centers in southern Jiangsu Province. It has 22 physicians, including 2 professors, 2 associate professors, 4 master’s advisors, and 72 beds.148
The department’s chief physician Zhu Feng once studied under academician Li Jieshou. In 2005, he took over liver transplantation at Zhejiang University, under the guidance of academician Zheng Shusen. He has a PhD degree from overseas, studied in Italy, and has rich experience in liver transplantation. His main research projects include “Application of basic immunology research in chronic dysfunction of transplanted organs” under the National 973 Program. He has published more than 20 academic papers.149
The cardiothoracic surgery department is led by Zhang Xiaoying, a PhD advisor and specialist who receives special government allowances from the State Council. In 2001, it completed Changzhou’s first heart transplant and first lung transplant. 150 151 The department has 72 beds, one PhD advisor, 10 PhD students, and 4 master’s degree holders. It has established a cooperative relationship with Lund University in Sweden.
Its ophthalmology department also conducts corneal transplants on a routine basis and has reached an advanced level in Jiangsu Province.152