Renji Hospital Benefits Southeast Asian Children with Liver Diseases enhancing “Health Silk Road” Project

With all physiological indicators steadily recovering, the living liver transplant surgery for 2-year-old Philippine patient Nieco (pseudonym) was declared successful. Recently, Renji Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine collaborated with Philippine Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center to achieve Renji Hospital's first liver transplant for a Philippine child. Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the Philippines, this transoceanic medical rescue has become a vivid example of the "Health Silk Road."

On March 10th, 2025, the "Renji - CGH International Medical Cooperation Exchange Conference" was held at Renji Hospital. Attendees included Philippine Ambassador to China Jaime A. FlorCruz, Acting Consul General of the Philippine Consulate General in Shanghai John Francis S. Herrera, Founding President of the Philippine-Chinese Youth Federation Hong Yuhua, Chairman of the Board of the Philippine Chinese Charitable Association Lu Zuyin, Second-Class Inspector of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government Overseas Chinese Affairs Office Xu Huanzhi, as well as Chinese and Philippine representatives such as Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and President of Renji Hospital Dr. Xia Qiang, and Vice President Sun Yun. The participants jointly discussed the high-quality achievements and promising future of medical cooperation between the two sides.

Transnational Life-Saving Relay: 2-Year-Old Critically Ill Philippine Child Successfully Rescued

In mid-February of this year, an international life-saving relay unfolded in the operating room of Renji Hospital. Nieco (pseudonym), a 2-year-old Philippine child, faced life-threatening liver cirrhosis caused by congenital biliary atresia, having endured 12 episodes of gastrointestinal bleeding within six months. Constrained by local medical resources, the family fell into despair. Thanks to the medical cooperation mechanism between China and the Philippines, Renji Hospital and Philippine Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center swiftly formed a joint expert team led by Academician Dr. Xia Qiang, who performed the living donor liver transplant. The child’s father voluntarily donated a portion of his liver. After a six-hour operation, Nieco was given a new lease on life. Transferred to a general ward one week post-surgery, his physiological indicators steadily improved, and he is expected to be discharged and return to the Philippines smoothly this week.

"Renji Hospital not only gave our child a new lease on life but also made us feel the warmth of home." The child’s family members choked back tears as they expressed their gratitude and presented an honorary banner to the medical team.

 

Medical Cooperation and Exchanges: Jointly Building a Lifeline for the Future

"As the world's largest pediatric liver transplant center, Renji Hospital has carried out more than 3,800 operations, with the post - operative survival rates of the children ranking among the top in the world. We have always stuck to the principle that 'medicine has no national boundaries' and have been the first to promote the clinical use and spread of Chinese liver transplant technology in Southeast Asia."

 

Academician Dr. Xia Qiang, President of Renji Hospital and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, looked back on the international development path of the hospital's pediatric liver transplant technology.

 

In 2019, Renji Hospital joined hands with the University Malaya Medical Center (UMMC) in Malaysia to set up an overseas representative office and initiated an international training program for pediatric living donor liver transplant technology. Over the past ten years, the Renji team has not only systematically trained more than 50 liver transplant specialists for countries such as Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia but also collaborated to carry out Malaysia's first pediatric living donor liver transplant. In total, they have saved the lives of 55 critically ill foreign children.

 

Dr. Xia Qiang stated that the success of this first - ever pediatric liver transplant in the Philippines indicates that China - Philippines medical cooperation in this field has advanced from "technology export" to "system co - construction". Looking ahead, Renji Hospital will keep adhering to its mission of "healing the world with benevolent medicine". Through sharing transnational medical technology resources, cultivating interdisciplinary medical talents, and building digital collaborative platforms, it aims to comprehensively establish a healthcare cooperation network that spans the "Health Silk Road".

"Philippine Ambassador to China Jaime A. FlorCruz also commended the achievements of this China - Philippines cooperation." He stated that this collaboration closely aligns with the strategic development needs of both countries, opening up an efficient life - saving channel for patients in Southeast Asia and demonstrating the global influence of Shanghai's medical brand.

 

Lu Zuyin, Chairman of the Board of the Philippine Chinese Charitable Association, further noted that since the partnership began in 2023, Renji Hospital and Philippine Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center have jointly trained over a dozen specialized medical staff in liver transplantation - related fields and completed the treatment of transnational complex cases. The two sides continue to explore new models of international medical cooperation to promote the efficient alignment of high - quality medical resources.

Smart Healthcare Innovation: Exploring Digital - Intelligent Medical Collaboration and Development

"During their visit to Shanghai, the delegation from Philippine Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center toured Renji Hospital's Smart Healthcare Command Center and Smart Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and highly praised the synergistic effects of innovative applications such as AI - assisted diagnosis and treatment and the teleconsultation platform of the internet hospital in pediatric rescue."

 

The medical team from Philippine Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center stated that this trip allowed them to systematically learn about Renji Hospital's advanced experiences in areas such as the DNV international medical quality control system, multidisciplinary collaboration mechanism, and smart service model, which provided important references for upgrading local medical service capabilities.

"Director Wang Chunming of the Smart Healthcare Development Department at Renji Hospital introduced that in the future, the two sides will leverage Shanghai Municipality's 'Smart Healthcare' development strategy to jointly create the 'China - Philippines Medical Internet Hospital Cloud Platform', promoting digital services such as case sharing and teleconsultation, and enabling 'Chinese solutions' to benefit more patients in Southeast Asia."

Editor: Qing Chen, ShanghaiDoctor.cn