[A brief history of liver transplantation]

Since 1950s, the idea of liver transplantation (LT) was proposed, the technique of LT had been gradually and widely appliedin the field of clinical surgery, experiencing three stages of animal experiment, clinical probation and clinical application. It is generally acknowledged as the common and effective therapeutic method for terminal stage of liver diseases. Recently, the technique of LT has made rapid progress in Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan. China is the second biggest LT country in the world, only next to USA.