Shanghai's Renji Hospital performs first liver transplant on Filipino child

Shanghai Renji Hospital said on Tuesday that by collaborating with the Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center in Manila, the Philippines, it has successfully performed its first liver transplant on a Filipino child at the medical institution in Shanghai.

The liver transplant was performed in mid-February, and the 2-year-old boy's physiological indicators are steadily improving. He is expected to be discharged and return to the Philippines later this week, according to Renji Hospital.

On Monday, representatives from the two hospitals gathered in Shanghai and held a dialogue on international medical collaboration, discussing the outcomes and prospects of medical cooperation between the two institutions.

The boy, nicknamed Nieco, suffered from congenital biliary atresia, which led to liver cirrhosis. He had previously experienced gastrointestinal bleeding 12 times within six months, putting his life in imminent danger. Due to limited medical resources locally in the Philippines, Nieco's family was plunged into despair.

Thanks to the medical cooperation mechanism across the two nations, Renji Hospital Affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and the hospital in Manila swiftly assembled a joint expert team.

Nieco's father volunteered to donate a portion of his liver. Xia Qiang, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of Renji Hospital, performed the living donor liver transplant surgery. The 2-year-old was given a new lease on life following the six-hour operation.