Chinese team makes medical history in Uzbekistan

Doctors from Shanghai Renji Hospital, the world's largest pediatric liver transplant center, have completed Uzbekistan's first living donor liver transplant using a minimally invasive technique to remove part of the donor's liver, during a medical assistance mission to the Central Asian country on Sunday.

The technique, which involves making small incisions rather than opening up the abdomen, can reduce surgical trauma and help donors recover faster than conventional open surgery. Renji Hospital said the mission aimed not only to perform the operation, but also to share its expertise in transplant care and train local medical professionals, helping build Uzbekistan's long-term capacity to treat more patients.

The recipient, a 42-year-old woman from eastern Uzbekistan, recently noticed an unusual swelling in her abdomen and developed jaundice, a condition that causes the skin and eyes to turn yellow. Examinations at a local hospital revealed severe liver damage. She was subsequently transferred to a medical center in the capital, Tashkent, where she was diagnosed with acute-on-chronic liver failure — a life-threatening condition in which a sudden deterioration of liver function occurs in someone who already has chronic liver disease.

Doctors said the condition can quickly lead to the failure of multiple organs, with a mortality rate of 30 to 50 percent.

The medical center in Tashkent contacted the liver surgery team at Renji Hospital, which has recorded the world's highest annual number of pediatric liver transplants for 12 consecutive years, requesting Chinese experts to help carry out the high-risk operation.

The Shanghai team arrived in Tashkent on Saturday, assessed the patient's condition and developed a detailed surgical plan. On Sunday, the operation was successfully completed under the leadership of Xia Qiang, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of Renji Hospital, which is affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine.

The Chinese doctors worked alongside professors from the local medical center.

The liver donor was the patient's 19-year-old son. Following the operation, the woman's vital signs remained stable, and medical indicators showed that she was recovering well. Her family asked the local doctors to deliver a letter of gratitude to the Shanghai team, praising the Chinese experts for their skills and for bringing hope and strength to the family.

Renji Hospital said the significance of the operation extended beyond introducing a minimally invasive surgical technique to Uzbekistan. The team also shared an approach to liver transplantation that places donor safety at the center of treatment and emphasizes coordinated care across different medical specialties, along with standardized procedures throughout the treatment process.

"Living donor liver transplants involve both the donor and recipient. We must make the utmost effort to treat patients with end-stage liver disease while prioritizing the safety of healthy donors," Xia said.

The Shanghai team provided expertise across the entire process, including the transplant operation for the recipient, laparoscopic surgery to remove part of the donor's liver through small incisions, anesthesia, intensive care and operating room nursing.

Renji Hospital and the medical center in Tashkent also signed a memorandum of understanding to expand cooperation. Planned activities include training medical teams, discussing complex cases jointly, improving care before and after surgery, and sharing experience in long-term patient follow-up.

Renji Hospital has previously helped introduce Chinese liver transplant techniques and protocols overseas. In 2019, its doctors traveled to Kuala Lumpur to guide Malaysian counterparts in completing the country's first two pediatric living donor liver transplants, sharing established Chinese practices with the local medical team.