As one of the earliest kidney transplant organizations in China, West China Hospital has performed more than 5,000 cases of kidney transplant since the first case in September 1978. At present, the longest functioning period of transplanted kidney is more than 40 years.
From 2011 to 2018, the total number of kidney transplants in our hospital ranks top nationwide each year. In the past 3 years, the annual average operation cases of kidney transplant exceeded 460. Among them, the number of living donor kidney transplant cases is the biggest in the country for 8 consecutive years, the kidney transplants with ABO blood type incompatibility rank first, and donor laparoscopic surgeries exceed 1,500 cases, topping in the country. Now, it is the most important training center since it has become a leader nationwide in the fields of living kidney transplant, ABO blood type incompatible kidney transplant, and the prevention and treatment of rejection.
In recent years, a number of innovative technologies have been developed. In 2009, laparoscopic minimally invasive surgery for removal of kidney was performed, wherein the wound was only about 5 cm and muscles and nerves were not cut off. Besides, donors recovered quickly: they can walk after 1 day, discharge from hospital within 4 days, and live a normal life including physical activities after 1 month. So far, none of living organ donors has generated severe surgical complications during the perioperative period, without any death toll. In 2011, the concept of ERAS (the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery) was introduced to the management of kidney donors and recipients. An individualized pretreatment program for kidney transplant with ABO blood group incompatibility was proposed for the first time and promoted nationwide. With pediatric and adult dual donor kidney transplant, the waste of donated organs has been reduced with good results. In the last two years, kidney transplants with ultra-small incisions have been carried out, bringing about smallest incision of only 4 cm, reducing the trauma of the patient and improving their life quality significantly.
Our hospital has not only completed a large number of kidney transplants, but also achieved satisfactory results in postoperative follow-up and complication treatment. The 1-year and 5-year survival rates of kidney transplant patients can reach 99% and 96%, respectively. More than 95% of the recipients live a normal life with much better life quality, and some of them have married and given birth. The renal survival rate is higher than that in the UNOS database of the United States during the same period. All these means the transplantation result reaches an internationally leading level. Thanks to the good perioperative management, perfect renal transplant follow-up and fewer surgical complications of the kidney transplant team in our hospital, the total cost of the operation has remained the lowest in the country: the average cost of living donor recipients during hospitalization is 60,000 yuan.
