This hospital was founded in 1923. It currently has 4,000 beds and 580 senior staff.280
The hospital was one of the earliest in China to perform organ transplantation and has expanded into various types of transplants.281 In particular, its kidney transplantation is state-of-the-art in the country. It has accumulated a wealth of experience in the management, diagnosis, and treatment of patients with postoperative and other complications. It also conducts liver and heart transplants.282 283
In October 2003, it completed the first combined liver-kidney transplant in Hubei Province.284 Heart transplantation is one of the featured procedures of its Cardiovascular Surgery Department.285 Its capabilities in heart transplantation have reached a first-class level domestically.286
The organ transplant department focuses its research on the mechanics and prevention of perfusion injury, as well as immune tolerance. It has undertaken more than 20 projects under the National Natural Science Foundation and provincial and city-level science and technology funds. It has published more than 100 papers in SCI and domestic journals.287
According to its website, Director Zhou Jiangqiao has “a wealth of clinical experience and in-depth knowledge in the field of kidney transplantation. Through his kidney transplants, he has saved the lives of nearly a thousand patients who had uremia.” He has engaged in multiple academic exchanges overseas. He is a committee member of the Organ Transplant Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, standing committee member of the Transplant Surgeons Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctors Association, and vice chairman of the Organ Transplant Branch of the Hubei
Medical Association. He also served on the editorial boards of journals, including the Chinese Journal of Transplantation (electronic version) and the Organ Transplant journal’s editorials. He has published over 30 papers, including 6 listed in SCI. He has co-edited 7 monographs and managed or participated in more than 10 provincial and city-level research projects. He is currently working on 3 research projects and has won one second prize of the Hubei Province Science and Technology Progress Award.288 289
The department’s chief surgeons (Liu Xiuheng, Hu Yunfei, Zhu Hengcheng), deputy chief surgeons (Chen Zhiyuan, Ge Minghuan), and surgeons (Qiu Tao, Chen Hui, Hu Shengguo, etc.) are all involved in kidney transplants.
The hospital’s website states that the organ transplant department has 25 beds and performs nearly 100 surgeries per year. Based on a conservative hospitalization duration of 30 days, 25 beds would enable at least 300 operations per year. Furthermore, if the department performs only 100 transplants per year, one transplant surgeon and 8 beds would be more than enough.
Professor Ding Youming, director of the hepatobiliary endoscopic surgery department and liver transplant specialist, studied in France and has performed clinical liver and liver-kidney transplants. He has managed 8 provincial and ministerial-level research projects, received one national award, published more than 100 papers domestically and internationally, and edited 2 monographs.290
The hospital’s Eye Center also conducts a variety of corneal transplants.