Professor Fan Sheung-tat denies using resignation to bargain for more resources A renowned liver transplant pioneer who resigned from the University of Hong Kong two weeks ago has decided to stay. Fan Sheung-tat, chair professor of the department of surgery at University of Hong Kong, said he made the decision because he had been 'touched deeply' by letters from patients and people asking him to stay. He also insisted that he was not using his resignation to bargain for more resources. Medical sources said Professor Fan, 55, was dissatisfied with the university extending the contract of department head John Wong, 64, who has remained at his post four years past his retirement age of 60. A medical source said the two 'just cannot get along with each other'. 'Fan always feels he has not been given appropriate recognition in the department,' the source said. 'He has been very unhappy for a long time.' Twenty-five doctors, including four HKU teaching staff, resigned from the Queen Mary Hospital's department of surgery from 2004 to last year, compared with 12 from 1998 to 2003. At a news conference yesterday, Professor Fan said he had resigned because he found his increasing workload - including administrative and teaching work at the university and also surgeries at Queen Mary Hospital - overwhelming. 'I felt like I wanted to leave especially when I'm doing a 30-hour shift,' he said. 'I wanted to quit to have more time doing my own stuff but I also feel the responsibility to continue serving the community.' Professor Fan said there was no discord between himself and Professor Wong, and he said the department head and Lam Shiu-kum, the dean of HKU's faculty of medicine, were among those who asked him to stay. Professor Fan said he would engage in less administrative work in the future and would focus on teaching, research and surgery. When asked whether he would leave upon reaching retirement age in five years, Professor Fan said: 'I think 60 years is suitable.' Professor Wong said he decided to stay on at his job because no one had offered to succeed him. But, 'I am sure anyone can carry on with my job if I leave,' he said. 'I said that if anyone felt they could take the job, then they were very, very welcome to do so.' Professor Lam said the extension of Professor Wong's term was in accordance with university procedure for any teaching staff hoping to continue work after retirement age. Kwok Ka-ki, the lawmaker representing the medical sector, welcomed Professor Fan's decision to withdraw his resignation. 'I am happy to see him stay because someone with such an expertise would be unable to serve the public as much if he turned to private practice,' Dr Kwok said. The executive administrator of the Hong Kong Liver Foundation, Doris Ho Lai-ching, said she was happy to see Professor Fan stay in his job. She said she hoped that more resources would be put into training new liver-transplant surgeons.