Pioneer of Chinese surgery dies in hospital, aged 94

Qiu Fazu, a surgeon and pioneer of organ transplantation in China, passed away on Saturday in Wuhan Tongji Hospital in Hubei province.

Professor Zhao Xici of Tongji Hospital, who is 72 and had worked with Qiu since 1961, cannot believe he is dead.

"Late last month, he visited 24 quake patients and told young surgeons not to resort to amputation if there was any alternative," Zhao, the former chief of the hospital's pediatrics department, said.