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Ella Lee

A central registry for patients waiting for liver transplants is being considered amid criticism that having two separate waiting lists is unfair.

The Chinese University's liver transplant centre at the Prince of Wales Hospital, Sha Tin, and the University of Hong Kong's centre at Queen Mary Hospital, Pokfulam, each have their own transplant waiting lists.

The University of Hong Kong's centre, however, conducts more transplants as it has more resources.

The head of its transplant team, Professor Fan Sheung-tat, admits that patients awaiting treatment at the Prince of Wales Hospital are being treated unfairly under a quota system, which limits that team to only one transplant a month.

'Their waiting time has been unnecessarily prolonged because of the quota system,' he said.

Since the Prince of Wales Hospital set the quota on liver transplants in June, the Chinese University team has passed on three livers to its University of Hong Kong counterparts.

The livers were transplanted into Queen Mary Hospital patients. Professor Fan said the University of Hong Kong team could not operate on patients waiting at the Prince of Wales.

'We have to know our patients and talk to them before we perform this major operation. There should be only one waiting list in Hong Kong.' All patients should be rated according to the severity of their condition, he said.

Hospital Authority director of professional services and public affairs Ko Wing-man said yesterday the authority was considering setting up a central registry for liver transplant patients.

An international expert panel on surgical services audited the work of the Hospital Authority last year and recommended that sophisticated services such as organ transplants be concentrated in designated centres.

Dr Ko said the Queen Mary Hospital was the designated liver transplant centre in Hong Kong and has first option on using donor livers.

The authority said the Prince of Wales has been allowed to carry out liver transplants provided it does not affect normal hospital procedures and services.

Dr Ko said the authority was studying ways to make sure all liver patients were given an equal chance of receiving donor organs.

However, doctors at the Chinese University said they did not want to see their transplant programme closed down.

Transplant team head Albert Chui Ka-keung said due to the high number of Hong Kong patients in need of a new liver, one centre would not be able to meet the demand.



Single queue for surgery could replace 'unfair' two-list system