As more and more issues have emerged in organ transplantion cases, there is an increasing dispute about the definition of death: whether the criteria of cardiopulmonary death or brain death should be applied. The conflict between rights and obligations in brain death and organ transplantion is becoming ever evident, and there is a need for clarity on the issue of death and organ transplantion. This needs to come through legislation, which would be the most economical and effective intervention to provide this clarity. The authors believe that the National People’s Congress of China (NPC), the Standing Committee of NPC, the State Council of China and the Supreme People’s Court of China may get involved in the legislation for issues related to brain death and organ transplantion. As for the selection of decrees related to brain death and organ transplantion, all provinces, autonomous regions and centrally-governed municipalities can not exercise corresponding local legislative power except for special economic zones. After brain death and organ transplant related laws, administrative regulations, local decrees, autonomous decrees and special decrees have been settled, relevant executive legislation may be enacted. During such a legislative procedure, pilot programs can be adopted so as to enhance the applicability and success rate of the legislation of brain death and organ transplant.
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.
ObjectiveIn order to provide a data base for fund project applicants and funding priorities, we would summarize the basic situation and key points of basic research in liver transplantation by analyzing the projects funded by the Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) in the field of liver transplantation.MethodsThrough the big data knowledge management and service platform of NSFC, internet-based science information system, and shared service network of NSFC, we searched the funding project information in the liver transplantation relevant field from 2010 to 2019, then analyzed the effectiveness of the Young Scientists Fund of NSFC in promoting young researchers and the research focus and development direction of funding projects.ResultsIn the latest 10 years, NSFC persistently and stably funded the basic research in the field of liver transplantation, with the total number of funding projects was 387, and the funding budget was 198.215 million yuan. The main types of funding projects were the General Program and the Youth Science Fund. There were 210 General Program project (54.3%) with an amount of 113.14 million yuan (57.1%), 127 Young Scientists Fund (32.8%) with an amount of 27.9 million yuan (14.1%), and 22 Fund for Less Developed Regions (5.7%) with an amount of 9.03 million yuan (4.6%). Sun Yat-sen University and Zhejiang University were far ahead of other supporting institutions in both the total number of projects undertaken and the amount of funds granted. The youth/surface ratio reached as high as 72.2% (13/18). The conversion rate of Young Scientists Fund to higher-level projects reached about 50%, which was significantly higher than the overall level of 24.7% (21/85) in the field of liver transplantation. The funding projects were mainly distributed in application code H0318 (liver regeneration, liver protection, liver failure, and artificial liver, 58, 15.0%), H0321 (organ transplantation of digestive system, 169, 43.7%), and H1006 (organ transplantation and transplantation immunity, 50, 12.9%). The main research fields were transplantation immunity and liver injury and liver protection. At the same time, projects such as graft function and complications of liver transplantation were also funded. There were few studies on the immune status of long-term survival in patients after liver transplantation and the mechanism on prevention of immunosuppressant-related diseases.ConclusionsThe NSFC has a great leading effect on the discipline development and talent cultivation of liver transplantation. However, there are still some problems in the discipline layout, such as the lack of attention to the mechanism of long-term graft function and chronic immune rejection.
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 summarize the application and progress of common autologous organ transplantation (AOT) techniques. Method A literature review and summary of previous and recent studies on common AOT was performed, including autologous liver transplantation, autologous kidney transplantation and intestinal autotransplantation techniques. Results AOT solved the issues of bleeding that cannot be controlled by in vivo resection of lesions, difficulties in vascular reconstruction, and the inability to radically resect lesions, and extended the indications for treatment of partially diseased conditions. Conclusions The AOT technique has an ameliorating effect on the tight donor situation in China, providing more potential donors. And the application of the AOT technique effectively avoids the usage of postoperative immunosuppressive drugs and the progression of lesions due to waiting for allogeneic organ transplantation. However, the clinical benefit in malignant tumors remains to be further investigated.
Objective To summarize the role of costimulatory molecules in inducing immune tolerance of organ transplantation. Methods Domestic and international publications online involving costimulatory molecules and immune tolerance in recent years were collected and reviewed. Results The relationship between costimulatory pathways and transplantation immunity has already been clarified in recent years. The main costimulatory molecules alreadly found mainly include B7-CD28/CTLA4, CD40-CD154, 4-1BB/4-1BBL, and ICOS-B7h, etc. Costimulatory pathways com-inhibition or combining with other immunosuppression methods could obtain stable and long lasting immune tolerance. Conclusions With the development of immunology and molecular biology, costimulatory pathways of T lymphocyte activation will be further interpreted. Other new costimulatory molecules will be discovered in the future, which will afford theory evidence for inducing immune tolerance.
Objective To review the research progress of Toll-like receptors （TLRs） signaling and its effects in organ transplantation. Methods The structural and functional features of TLRs and their ligands were summarized，the literatures in recent years about the research progress of TLRs signaling in animal experiment and clinical organ transplantation were reviewed. Results TRLs played an important role in the organ transplantation，the activation of TLRs could activate the specific immune system，and contribute to ischemic reperfusion injury，acute and chronic allograft rejections，and induce the immune tolerance. Early treatment intervention could reduce the activation of TRLs through ischemic reperfusion injury in the organ transplantation，and improve the allograft survival. The efficient immunosuppressive drugs which aimed at the related immunosuppressive target in immune and its signal transduction pathway could reduce ischemic reperfusion injury in the organ transplantation and immune rejection. Conclusions TRLs signaling plays an important role in ischemic reperfusion injury，immune rejection，and immune regulation.
ObjectiveTo summarize the research progress of surgical technique and immunosuppressive regimen of abdominal wall vascularized composite allograft transplantation in animals and clinical practice. MethodsThe literature on abdominal wall transplantation at home and abroad in recent years was extensively reviewed and analyzed. ResultsThis review includes animal and clinical studies. In animal studies, partial or total full-thickness abdominal wall transplantation models have been successfully established by researchers. Also, the use of thoracolumbar nerves has been described as an important method for functional reconstruction and prevention of long-term muscle atrophy in allogeneic abdominal wall transplantation. In clinical studies, researchers have utilized four revascularization techniques to perform abdominal wall transplantation, which has a high survival rate and a low incidence of complications. ConclusionAbdominal wall allotransplantation is a critical reconstructive option for the difficulty closure of complex abdominal wall defects. Realizing the recanalization of the nerve in transplanted abdominal wall to the recipient is very important for the functional recovery of the allograft. The developments of similar research are beneficial for the progress of abdominal wall allotransplantation.
Objective We investigated the effectiveness of legislation in developed countries by analyzingtheir legislation, and produced ideas and strategies for organ transplantation and brain death legislation in China.Methods Official websites were searched as follows: UNOS, TCE, CLTR, ANZDATA, and SRTR through December6, 2008. We included statistical reports and data analysis of organ donations and transplants, and excluded literatureabout non-solid organs. The absolute transplantation numbers were standardized to per one million people. Results 1.The following data was retrieved: The number of eight kinds of organ transplants and organ donations in Britain, the United States, New Zealand, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, and Australia from 2003 to 2005; the number of deceased donors in the United States and Spain from 1988 to 2007; the total number of organ transplants in Australia from 2002 to 2006; the amount of organ transplants in the United States from 1993 to 2006; liver and kidney transplant totals in the United States from 1988 through March, 2008; liver transplants number of China from 1993 through March, 2008; and the number of kidney transplants in some provinces and cities in China. 2. Transplant totals were greatest in the United States; in Spain, after ONT was founded in 1990, the rate of donation from the deceased was the most in theworld. 3. Spain had the best rate of donation with 34.5 pmp, 10.9 pmp higher than in the United States with separate legislation from 2003 to 2005. There was a rate difference of 0.98 pmp between Germany and the United Kingdomwhich implemented separated legislation nine years earlier. 4. Southern Australia had a maximum rate of average kidneytransplant in the country from 2002 to 2006. 5. Live donor kidney transplants accounted for 31.2~44% compared to4.3% and 4.1% for liver transplants in 2006 and 2007 respectively in the United States. 6. The following have been appliedglobally to regulate organ transplantation and brain death: 1) International or multilateral treaties; 2) Regulation ofNGOs; 3) Self-discipline in the field of organ transplantation; 4) Expert consensus; 5) Establishment of patient’s alliance.Conclusion Countries that have implemented organ transplantation and brain death laws have developed successfulmeasures to improve and support insurance and follow-up information for donors and recipients, however, legislation isstill urgently needed in China. As long as brain death and organ transplant laws are reasonably developed and legislatorsresolve to deal with the difficult issues, then the legislation and its subsequent enforcement will reflect the interests of the people and improve health quality for all.
