The world's first lung transplant for a patient infected with the COVID-19 was conducted by doctors from east China's Wuxi City on Saturday, Dr. Chen Jingyu from Wuxi People's Hospital said on social media Weibo.

The male patient, 59, is in stable condition after the five-hour surgery. Experts believe that the lung transplant for the severe patient of COVID-19 is of great significance to reducing mortality in the future.

The patient, from east China's Jiangsu province, was confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 on January 26. After a series of medical treatments, he had shown negative results for the virus in multiple nucleic acid tests.

However, both of his lungs were severely impaired and the damage was deemed irreversible before the transplant.

Wuxi's health officials and experts, under the support of Jiangsu Health Commission, decided to conduct the operation to save him.

The lungs, donated by a patient from another province who was declared brain dead, were transferred to the city by high-speed trains, which took about seven hours. 

According to Dr. Chen, the lung transplant for a COVID-19 patient requires three major prerequisites: First, the patient's lungs must be severely impaired and irreversibly damaged; secondly, the patient needs to have tested negative for the virus in multiple nucleic acid tests; thirdly, the patient's other organs must function normally and the body must be able to withstand the operation.

"This type of surgery is highly risky. It must be carried out in a negative pressure operating room and the medical staff must wear overall protective clothes throughout the process. It's extremely challenging both psychologically and physically," he said.

In order to achieve the success of the operation while ensuring zero infection for the medical staff, careful preparations were made in advance, Chen noted.

Chen said his team will closely monitor the patient and complete a follow-up treatment, meanwhile summarizing the experience so as to open the door of hope to more severe patients with COVID-19. 

(CGTN's Liu Yuyao also contributed to the story.)