This was formerly a church hospital founded in 1890. It has 3,000 beds, 485 personnel with senior professional titles, 184 professors and associate professors, 262 PhDs and postdoctoral fellows, 835 staff with master’s degrees, 118 doctoral and master’s advisors, and 14 experts who enjoy special government allowances from the State Council and have made outstanding contributions recognized by the Ministry of Health and the provincial government. Organ transplantation is one of its key areas.236
After 2004, the hospital rapidly developed its organ transplantation operations, making breakthroughs in kidney, heart, liver, pancreas-kidney, and other types of transplants. The hospital’s annual transplant volume ranked first in the province.
Its 100-bed Urologic Surgery Department has 29 doctors, including 13 with senior professional titles, one doctoral advisor, and 3 master’s advisors. Its kidney transplantation is at an advanced level domestically.237
Its 92-bed Hepatobiliary Surgery Department completed the first liver transplant in the eastern Shandong area in 2000. It has 37 medical staff, including 10 chief surgeons and associate chief surgeons, one postdoctoral fellow, 6 members with PhDs, and 8 with master’s degrees.238
Liu Dongfu, deputy director of the Organ Transplant Center, was among the first in China to work on organ transplantation. He has engaged in kidney transplantation for over 30 years. Liu specializes in kidney transplant surgery and postoperative management, and has completed over 3,000 kidney transplants. He has won provincial and municipal science and technology progress awards, published more than 10 articles in SCI and core journals, and published 3 monographs related to kidney transplantation.239
Professor Gao Zhenli is the hospital’s vice president, director of the Urologic Surgery Department, and director of the Organ Transplant Center. He enjoys special government allowances from the State Council and is a PhD advisor at Shandong University. He has been invited to demonstrate surgeries on multiple occasions at the PLA No. 301 Hospital in Beijing, Shanghai General Hospital, and the Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University. He manages 6 national and provincial-level research projects and has won provincial and municipal science and technology progress awards in recent years. He has published more than 50 papers and edited 4 monographs.240 241
Below is a conversation between an investigator (posing as a relative of a patient) and nurse Fang Yanli (#0264) at the hospital:242
Q: “Hello doctor, what’s your last name?”
A: “My last name is Fang, what’s the matter?”
Q: “I heard there are hospitals in Yantai doing kidney transplantation. Is it your hospital?”
A: “Yes.”
Q: “We found it! How much does it cost to do a kidney transplantation?”
A: “If everything is smooth, 70-80 thousand yuan should be enough.”
Q: “How long does it take?”
A: “Need to check patient’s blood type first. If it is type O, it takes longer. Other blood types are very quick. Once the blood type is matched, we can do the surgery immediately. It only takes eleven days to stay in the hospital.”
Q: “Now we all need to have some connections. Can you recommend a chief surgeon?”
A: “Kidney transplantation is not a big surgery. All of our doctors are good at it.”
Q: “We still feel more assured with your help.”
A: “OK.” (Then he handed me a brochure from the bookshelf and opened it to the page of outstanding doctors on the organ transplantation team. We found a doctor called Yang Diandong (Medical master).
Q: “How much does it cost to match blood type?”
A: “Matching blood type costs 4,500 yuan. Just ask for me once the patient comes.”
Q: “Is the kidney you provide made of plastic?”
A: “No. They are all from live people.