THE surgeon who carried out Hongkong's first heart transplant has severed his official link with the University of Hongkong, raising fears of a lack of cardiac surgeons in the public sector.
The move by Professor Mok Che-keung, who has been dividing his time between his public and private practices for two years, will concentrate more on his private business.
But the heart surgeon will keep his office at Grantham Hospital - Hongkong's major heart centre in the public sector - where he is an honorary consultant.
Last week Professor Mok insisted he would still ''render my service free to the university'', although his contract ended last month.
He said he was willing to take part in future transplant operations.
Professor Mok claimed he would not spend all his time serving private patients, and that since he was not running a private clinic but handling referrals from private doctors, he would be more ''readily available'' when his service was required in the public sector.
