Improved technology is making it cheaper to get a liver transplant in Shanghai, although the cost is still prohibitive to many.

The cost of a liver transplant in the city falls to 170,000 yuan (US$20,482) this year, less than half of what it cost just three years ago.

"By improving our technology, the cost can be further reduced to 150,000 yuan (US$18,112)," said Peng Zhihai, vice dean of Shanghai No. 1 People's Hospital, one of the city's best hospitals for treating liver diseases.

Xu Ping, a 23-year-old man from Jiangsu Province, received a liver transplant Tuesday evening at the hospital.

He is the 200th person to undergo such an operation at the hospital, and the 36th this year.

In 1991, when liver transplantation was first introduced in the city, each operation cost an average of 400,000 yuan (US$48,298). It fell to about 300,000 yuan (US$36,223) in 2002.

Over the last decade, liver transplants have become an accepted treatment for patients with end-stage liver disease. Ideally, after a transplant, the patient will be free from disease, and lead a fairly normal life as long as the new organ functions.

Currently, most Chinese hospitals outside the city charge about 250,000 to 300,000 yuan for a transplant, and an overseas surgery costs about US$100,000.

In China, patients pay the entire price of the operation themselves.

"In a country like China where severe liver disease is a major killer, some dying patients give up this last straw because of a lack of money," Peng said.

(Shanghai Daily April 28, 2004)