Organ transplant patients celebrate Lantern Festival with medical staff
A batch of patients, who had successful organ transplant surgeries at Ruijin Hospital, the only hospital qualified for all approved organ transplants in the city, celebrated their recovery on Tuesday, the Lantern Festival day.
"I had a liver transplant operation on July 1 last year at Ruijin Hospital, which gave me a chance of rebirth," said 67-year-old Wang Jianlin, who was diagnosed with cirrhosis in February, which developed into liver failure in April.
He got a matched donor through the national organ distribution system on July 1 and underwent a 5-hour surgery.
In the absence of family members, medical staff provided him with care and nursing during his hospitalization.
"I am recovering so well that I drove to Ruijin to meet medical staff to celebrate Lantern Festival today," he stated.
Ruijn boasts many firsts, because it is the only local hospital approved to carry out all allowed organ transplant surgeries, including heart, liver, lung, kidney, pancreas and small intestine.
Zhang Xin was one of such patient, being the first to undergo a joint transplant of both heart and kidney in Shanghai.
He started to suffer nephritis in 2009 and was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy in 2017. He suffered heart failure and uremia in March 2017.
His condition was so serious that he had to shuffle between hospitals for treatment.
He went to Dr Zhao Qiang of Ruijin and underwent a joint transplant of both heart and kidney during an 8-hour surgery on April 11, 2017.
"I now just need go to the outpatient clinic for medication; my life has returned to near normal," Zhang revealed.
Dr Qu Jieming, Party secretary of Ruijin Hospital, offers gifts to patients recovering from organ transplant.
Qu talks to a patient with successful organ transplant and sends a toy tiger as gift to him.
Medical experts said patients shouldn't wait until too late for organ transplant.
"Many patients come to the hospital for lung transplant too late. Actually, lung transplant is also a solution for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or pneumoconiosis and they should come to the hospital early for proper treatment like lung transplant, instead of waiting for terminal lung failure," said Dr Li Hecheng, director of Ruijin's thoracic surgery department.
"Early and timely arrangement of lung transplant can not only improve patients' survival but also ensure better life quality."
Zhou Peijun, director of Ruijin's kidney transplant department, said the 10-year survival rate of patients with kidney transplant is 72 percent at the hospital.
"Individualized treatment and proper follow-up patient management are crucial for good life quality and long survival of organ transplant patients," Zhou noted.
"Patients' post-transplant rejection and rehabilitation are major contents for future research. Medicine is not only about patients' survival, we should also focus on their life quality and health," said Dr Ning Guang, president of Ruijin Hospital.
Dr Ning Guang, president of Ruijin Hospital, gives health education books to organ transplant patients.
