Surgeons at the University of Tokyo Hospital on Thursday morning finished a marathon liver transplant operation on a hemophiliac who had contracted HIV and hepatitis C from blood products used to treat his illness.
The 41-year-old man received part of his 48-year-old brother's liver in an operation that started Wednesday and lasted about 20 hours, hospital officials said.
The officials said the operation went well, with neither brother encountering major problems so far.
The operation, performed by a team of surgeons led by Masatoshi Makuuchi, is the first such transplant in Japan on a person with HIV. It is drawing attention in medical circles as an increasing number of hemophiliacs suffering from both HIV and hepatitis are dying from liver damage, even though drug treatment can suppress the onset of AIDS.