At present, the application of umbilical cord blood stem cells is in the research stage, and the Ministry of Health has not officially approved it. At present, some military hospitals in China have carried out relevant research and application (under the jurisdiction of the General Logistics Department).

Three alternative therapies for liver failure: liver transplantation, artificial liver and stem cell transplantation.

1. Liver transplantation (including living donor liver transplantation)

2. Artificial liver

3. Stem cell transplantation

Liver transplantation is to replace the whole liver, which is risky and costs about 300 thousand, but it can cure cirrhosis. At present, the authoritative person in China is Academician Zheng Shusen of Zhejiang University (an expert in the field of liver transplantation in China Academy of Engineering).

Artificial liver is a kind of protein that can filter out the toxins in the body's blood through plasma exchange, but can't synthesize the liver. The cost is about 654.38+00000 each time, and it needs to be done several times a week. It can be used as a supportive treatment for acute liver failure or a transitional treatment for the waiting period of liver transplantation-until acute liver function is restored or liver transplantation is performed.

Stem cell transplantation does not change the liver, but introduces some new cells into the body. The risk of surgery is relatively small, with a cost of 20,000 each time, and it needs to be done many times a year. But after a period of time, these cells will also be killed by the autoimmune system, leading to further deterioration of liver function.

Note: Among these ways to treat liver failure, the recovery probability of drug-induced hepatitis and acute explosive liver failure treated by stem cell transplantation or artificial liver is high, and it is difficult to solve the fundamental problem of liver failure due to chronic liver disease unless total liver replacement is performed.