China's Top Departments: Liver Surgery at Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
The largest liver transplantation center in the world and the largest pediatric liver transplantation center in the world. Established in 2004 under Academician Xia Qiang, the department has completed 4,000+ pediatric living-donor liver transplants with 1-year survival rates of ~95% and 10-year survival of ~92% — internationally leading.
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Short answer:The largest liver transplantation center in the world and the largest pediatric liver transplantation center in the world. Established in 2004 under Academician Xia Qiang, the department has completed 4,000+ pediatric living-donor liver transplants with 1-year survival rates of ~95% and 10-year survival of ~92% — internationally leading.
Key points
- World's Largest Liver & Pediatric Liver Transplant Center
- 12 Consecutive Years: World's Largest Annual Single-Center Volume
- Pediatric 1-Year Survival ~95% · 10-Year Survival ~92%
- Led by Academician Xia Qiang (CAE, elected 2023)
If you or your child needs liver surgery or a liver transplant — for end-stage liver disease, liver cancer, or a congenital biliary condition — the Department of Liver Surgery at Renji Hospital is the largest liver transplantation center in the world.
Established in September 2004, under the leadership of Professor Xia Qiang, the department has grown from the ground up to become the largest liver transplantation center in the world and the largest pediatric liver transplantation center in the world, as well as China's largest organ transplantation center by liver transplant volume and outpatient visits.
The department operates 8 inpatient wards with 324 beds, integrating adult liver surgery, pediatric liver surgery, an international diagnosis and treatment center, a day-care ward, and a transplant ICU, together with a one-stop outpatient clinic and dedicated research platforms.
At Medora, we help international patients navigate Renji's liver surgery team. Here's what you need to know.
Accreditations
- National Key Clinical Specialty
- Shanghai's only national training base for organ transplant surgeons
- Supporting institution for the Shanghai Municipal Key Clinical Medicine Center, the Shanghai Clinical Key Specialty, the Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Organ Transplantation and Immunity, the Shanghai Institute of Organ Transplantation, and the Shanghai Liver Transplantation Quality Control Center
Expert Team
| Expert | Title | Profile |
|---|---|---|
| Xia Qiang | Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (elected 2023), President of Renji Hospital, academic leader | Director of the Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Organ Transplantation and Immunity, the Shanghai Institute of Organ Transplantation, and the Shanghai Liver Transplantation Quality Control Center. Focus: liver surgery and liver transplantation; surgical treatment of pediatric end-stage liver disease and benign/malignant liver tumors |
| Zhang Jianjun | Deputy Director, Chief Physician, MD, second-grade Professor, doctoral supervisor | — |
| Luo Yi | Executive Deputy Director and Executive Director of the Pediatric Ward, MD, Chief Physician | Pediatric liver transplantation |
| Xia Lei | Deputy Director, MD, Chief Physician | — |
| Tong Ying | Chief Physician, MD | — |
Core Expertise and Technologies
- Specialized in adult and pediatric liver transplantation, with pediatric liver transplantation as the signature technique
- Living-donor liver transplantation (primarily parental living-donor transplantation for children); about 80% of pediatric transplants use living donors
- Fluorescence-guided laparoscopic donor hepatectomy (minimally invasive); about 90% of donor operations are performed laparoscopically, minimizing donor injury
- Precision hepatectomy
- Comprehensive approaches for end-stage liver disease and liver cancer: surgery, minimally invasive treatment, targeted therapy
- Individualized post-transplant immunosuppression regimens tailored for Chinese children (e.g., CYP3A5 genotype-guided dosing)
Surgical Volume and Survival Rates
| Metric | Data |
|---|---|
| Liver transplants/year (2017–2018) | Over 800 — single-center world record |
| Pediatric liver transplants (by 2023) | More than 3,000 |
| Pediatric living-donor liver transplants (by 2025) | Over 4,000 |
| World's largest annual single-center volume | 12 consecutive years |
| Pediatric post-transplant 1-year survival | ~95% |
| Pediatric post-transplant 5-year survival | ~94% |
| Overall 10-year survival | ~92% — internationally leading |
| Youngest transplant recipient | 58 days old |
Rankings and Honors
- The world's largest pediatric liver transplantation center
- Awards: National Science and Technology Progress Award (Second Prize), Ministry of Education Science and Technology Progress Award (First Prize), Shanghai Science and Technology Progress Award (First Prize), Huaxia Medical Science and Technology Award (First Prize), Shanghai Medical Science and Technology Award (First Prize)
- Led the formulation of China's first Clinical Guidelines for Pediatric Liver Transplantation
- Led the establishment of China's first professional committee on pediatric organ transplantation
- In 2025, awarded an NSFC Excellent Research Group project (Class A) on "Liver Transplantation and Homeostatic Remodeling", with direct funding of RMB 60 million
Research Strength
- More than 120 national and provincial/ministerial-level projects (including the National Key R&D Program and major NSFC programs), with research funding exceeding RMB 100 million
- More than 270 SCI-indexed papers, highest single-paper impact factor of 64.5
- Publications in Cell, Gut, Gastroenterology, Journal of Hepatology, Nature Medicine, Cell Stem Cell, and Hepatology
- Research platforms focus on transplant immunology, gene therapy for pediatric liver disease, hepatocyte transplantation, liver malignancies, xenotransplantation, 3D bioprinting, normothermic machine perfusion, and AI-assisted diagnosis and treatment
Address and Contact
- East Campus: 160 Pujian Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai
- West Campus: 145 Shandong Zhong Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai
- South Campus: 2000 Jiangyue Road, Minhang District, Shanghai
- North Campus: 845 Lingshan Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai
- General switchboard: 021-58752345
Shanghai is China's largest city with two international airports (Pudong PVG and Hongqiao SHA), excellent global connectivity, and world-class hospitality infrastructure.
This guide is prepared for an international audience. If you need assistance with medical consultation, appointment booking, or travel arrangements to Renji Hospital's Liver Surgery Department, contact Medora for personalized support.
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