Objective We aimed to investigate the attitude and suggestion from doctors, pharmacists and civil servants concerning brain death and organ transplantation and the legislation. Methods A questionnaire with 10 sections and 44 questions was designed and distributed. The effective questionnaire data was then recorded and checked for descriptive analysis. Results In 1 400 questionnaires distributed, 1 063 were responded and 969 of them were valid and analyzed. The respondents showed an incomplete understanding of brain death and organ transplantation laws. Seventy-four percent of the respondents recognized and accepted the standard of brain death. They agreed that legislation should be involved in the removal of organs for transplantation, the future use of the organs, and insurance and compensation for the donor for possible health risks induced by organ removal. Of the 969 respondents, 92% considered it necessary to have legislation in brain death and organ transplantation, and 61% thought that it is time to legislate. Conclusion Legislation for brain death and organ transplantation is urgent and timely in China. The laws must include the respective rights and obligations of patients, close relatives, and medical institutions. Educating the public about brain death and organ transplantation should also be encouraged in a variety of ways.
【Abstract】Objective To introduce the birth and development of model of endstage liver disease (MELD) and evaluate its effect on liver transplantation(LT) as a new scoring system. Methods Literatures of MELD applied in LT were analyzed retrospectively. Results MELD scoring system was used for predicting the prognosis of patients with endstage liver disease and the death risk of candidates on waiting LT extensively and the order of organ sharing was determined by its predicable results. Conclusion MELD has been had a successful initial implementation for predicting the shortterm survival probability and mortality in patients with endstage liver disease, and meeting the goal of providing a system of allocation that emphasizes the urgency of the candidate while diminishing the reliance on waiting time, which has been proven to be a powerful tool for auditing the liver allocation system.
ObjectiveTo compare tacrolumus (FK506) with cyclosporine A (CsA) in clinical application to organ transplantation.MethodsThe literature in recent years has been reviewed and compared. ResultsFK506 was a powerful immunosuppression with a mechanism of action similar to that of CsA, but significantly superiori to CsA in terms of prophylaxis and treatment of allograft acute rejection, delay of chronic rejection, and withdrawal of steroid in early period. The cardiovascular mortality and chronic graft nephropathy (CGN),such as hypertension and hyperlipidemia were less frequently seen in FK506treated patients and FK506 also had an acceptable safety profile, including a low incidence of hypertrichosis,gingival hyperplasia and infections.However, CsA had been showed a better result in prevention of posttransplantation diabetes mellitus (PTDM ) and more economic agent than FK506. Pharmacokinetic studies showed CsA in the form of Sandimmun Neoral showed less inter an intrapatient variability than FK506.Meanwhile, the combination of MMF and FK506 or CsA has been proved effectively with excellent graft and patients survival. Conclusion FK506 and CsA are safe and effective long term maintenance immunosuppressive agents in organ transplantation with wonderful prospect.
Objective To evaluate the relationship of the organ injury scale （OIS） with clinical characteristics and survival in penetrating cardiac trauma patients. Methods A retrospective review identified 224 patients with penetrating cardiac trauma. A grade assigned on the basis of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma OIS was assigned to each case studied. Clinical data, including Glasgow coma scale（GCS）, revised trauma score（RTS）, injury severity score （ISS）, penetrating thoracic trauma index （PTTI）, penetrating trauma index （PTI）, and outcomes were analyzed for association with OIS grade. Results The majority of patients were either grade Ⅳ/ or Ⅴ , with grade Ⅵ having the highest mortality. Patients of grade Ⅰ to Ⅲ were mostly Sub-clinical type patients, and grade Ⅳ to Ⅵ were mostly pericardial tamponade type and hemorrhagic shock type patients. The OIS grade was significantly negative correlated with postinjury duration and GCS （r=-0. 18, -0.16）, and positive correlated with transfusion, ISS, PTTI, PT1, and death（r=0. 17,0. 22,0. 40,0. 41,0. 29）. Conclusion The OIS appears to correlate with severity of injury and survival, and it may be useful in predicting outcomes in patients with penetrating cardiac injury.
Objective To review the latest research progress on keratinocyte growth factor (KGF), to thoroughlyunderstand its basic characteristics and appl ication methods and to lay a sol id foundation for the research and development of new KGF medicines and improving the qual ity of skin substitutes. Methods Domestical and international l iteratures on KGFin recent years were extensively reviewed and analyzed. Results KGF was secreted by mesenchymal cells and its receptors were distributed in epithel ium to promote the prol iferation, migration and differentiation of epithel ial cell specifically, which closely related to the organ development, wound heal ing, tumorigenesis and immune reconstruction. Conclusion KGF can be used to improve wound heal ing and the performance of skin substitutes. However, the structure of KGF needs to be changed to el iminate its side effects and purify its promoting effect on epithel ial cell growth.
Objective To evaluate 5 different kinds of perforator flaps for repairing soft-tissue defects and reconstructing the breast and tongue after the breast or the tongue resection.Methods From June 2005 to June 2006, 31 free or pedicled perforator flaps were used to repair the softtissue defects or reconstruct the organs in our hospital. The free anterolateral thigh flaps (ALT) were used in 16 cases to repair the soft-tissue defects in the head and neck after resection of malignant tumors, including malignant melanoma in 9, squamous carcinoma in 4, basaloma in 2 and malignant fibrous histocytoma in 1.Among them, 3 ALT flaps were used for reconstruction of the tongue after resection of the tongue (3/4); the maximum area of the flap was 26 cm×15 cm. The deep inferior epigastric perforator flaps (DIEP) were used in 10 cases, and the free transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous flaps (FTRAM) were used in 2 cases to reconstruct the breast.Secondary reconstruction was performed in9 cases, immediate reconstruction with the skin-sparing mastectomy at the sametime was performed in 3 cases. The bilateral breast reconstruction was performed in 3 cases and the unilateral breast reconstruction was performed in 9 cases. The breast reconstruction was performed in 1 case using the superior gluteal artery perforator flap (SGAP) and the inferior gluteal artery perforator flap (IGAP), respectively. One case had an uncovered bone (6 cm × 4 cm) in the middle andlower parts of the right cnemis, which was repaired by the pedicled local posterior tibial artery perforator flap (PTA,15 cm × 5 cm). The donor sites were sutured directly in 27 cases, the ALT flap in 3 and PTA flap in 1 were covered by the epidermal skin graft. Results The follow-up for 3-6 months revealed that in the 31 cases (33 free flaps, 1 pedicled flap), only 1 had a total necrosis of the transferred ALT flap for the neck defect repair after resection of the neck tumor, which was caused by the venous insufficiency. There was nopartial necrosis in the remaining ALT flaps. There was a partial fat liquefaction in the DIEP flap, and a pain of abdomen in the FTRAM flap. The distal partial necrosis occurred in the pedicled PTA flap (2 cm×1 cm) in 1 case, as a result of the venous insufficiency, which was managed successfully using daily dressings. One SGAP and one IGAP survived. ConclusionAlthough the perforator dissection is difficult and the vascular anatomy is complicated, application of the perforator flaps to repair of the softtissue defects and reconstruction of the organs is still an important step forward becaue of the minimal donor site “cost” and the maximal efficacy.
Objective To investigate the latest development of tissue engineeredregenerative medicine in industrialization, with the intention to direct work in practical area. Methods A complete insight of regenerative medicine in industrialization was obtained through referring to update publications, visiting related websites, as well as learning from practical experience. Results The aerial view of the future of regenerative medicine was got based on knowledge of four different tissue engineering projects. Conclusion All present efforts should be devoted to regenerative medicine area meeting the industrialized trends.
Through analyzing the relevant regulations of organ transplantation in China, we identified the problems in the regulations of organ transplantation in China, including more strict limitation of the living organ donors resulting in a serious shortage of organ supply, difficulties in preventing the hidden organ trading, and opaque process of organ allocation resulting in unfair distribution. We also put forward the solutions to address above problems, including the improvement of organ transplantation regulations, establishment of the reimbursement mechanism for organ donation, rational mechanism of organ allocation and the brain death criteria, so as to promote more comprehensive sources of organ donation for the patients with end-stage organ failure.
Objective To collect and analyze published experimental and clinical studies about the protective function of ischemic preconditioning (IPC) to organs, in order to learn the history of IPC, the progress of experimental as well as clinical studies, and explore the mechanism of IPC in organ transplantation. Methods The electronic search of MEDLINE (1966 to Aug. 2009), EMbase (1974 to Aug. 2009) and The Cochrane Library (Issue 2, 2009) were performed to include and exclude the retrieved articles by two reviewers independently. The included studies were further treated for analysis and discriptive review. Results A total of 1 398 papers were included, of which about 75 percent were experimental studies, and only about 25 percent were clinical studies. About 73 percent studies focused on the heart and liver. Althrough the studies about the effects induced by IPC on the heart, brain, spinal cord and liver increased obviously in recent years, the clinical studies concerned the heart and liver operation and transplantation still far lagged behind experimental studies, especially very few clinical studies on the effect induced by IPC on kidney, lung, gastrointestinal tract and pancreas. Conclusion IPC intervention can effectively protect the heart and lung from the I/RI during the surgical and transplatational operations, and the hepat-surgical and living liver transplantational operations. IPC can effectively protect the brain and spinal cord from I/RI, but no protective function to cadaveric liver transplantation. However, the IPC effects on the kidney and gastrointestinal tract are not confirmed and neither is the mechanism of the effect induced by IPC.
Background and Objective Organ transplantation has become an essential and irreplaceable treatment for patients with organ failure. Although organ transplantation was introduced to China in the 1960s, it has witnessed rapid development in recent years. However, problems have been identified in the course of its development. We aim to present both medical and legal points of view on organ transplantation, to compare the current status of organ transplantation in China with that in developed countries, and discuss the challenges China faces in developing its own legislation for organ transplantation. Methods We searched the websites of WHO, NIH, AST, UNOS, and governments, as well as relevant conference proceedings and expert consensus documents. Articles or documents involving organ transplantation legislation were identified. Results We included 10 legal documents, 1 regulation, 9 government documents, and 4 expert consensus documents. Organ transplantation legislation started in the 1960s in the United Kingdom, and was soon followed by New Zealand and the United States. The first law on brain death was enacted in the United States in 1978. Since 1991, the World Health Assembly (WHA) and other non-governmental organizations have issued 7 consensus documents in order to regulate behaviors related to organ transplantation. China including Hong Kong, Macau and Chinese Taipei has not yet formulated any law on organ transplantation. Conclusion At least six challenges about organ transplantation and brain death legislation in China are identified: ① death definition and source of organ donors; ② prevention of organ transplant tourism; ③ risk assessment and insurance for living donors; ④ defining who has the right to choose about potential organ donation for an individual: whether spouses, parents, or children; ⑤ whether an organ donor should receive compensation; ⑥ whether brain death and organ transplant laws should be formulated separately.