China recently recorded a successful simultaneous liver, pancreas and kidney transplant, reportedly the first of its kind in Asia.

Experts said that it is extremely difficult to transplant more than two organs at the same time, due to clinical complications, large area of operation trauma and time limits in preservation of organs to be transplanted.

The above operation was made late September at the Fuzhou General Hospital of Nanjing Military Command in Fuzhou, capital city of east China's Fujian Province.

The 36-year-old patient surnamed Lin who received the operation contracted diabetes when he was 14. Ten years later, he suffered from hepatitis A and then from hepatitis B. His insulin injections and medication led to chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis of the liver. In June this year, Lin's condition worsened and was unable to eat.

Upon the operation, the patient has been in a stable condition, sources with the hospital said.

The Fuzhou General Hospital started research on human organ transplant in the 1980s and has since carried out more than 2,000 major human organ transplants. From the year of 2000 until now, the hospital conducted 10-odd simultaneous liver-kidney, pancreas-kidney transplants, with a success rate of 100 percent, according to the officials.
 
(Xinhua News Agency October 4, 2004)