Zealous physician rises up to challenges

Albert Lie Kwok-wai
Deputy Hospital Chief Executive (Planning)
Queen Mary Hospital

Albert Lie has been a medical doctor for 35 years. Besides working at Castle Peak Hospital for one year after graduation, Dr Lie has been working as a haematologist in Queen Mary Hospital (QMH) since then. He has led the Haemopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Centre since 1997, overseeing blood transfusion service, blood stem cell transplantation, and training of young doctors. Previously, as Chairman of Central Transfusion Committee and convener of the Haematology workgroup, he was instrumental in enhancing the professional standard and improving quality of service.

Dr Lie is experienced in both clinical work as well as management. His major contribution stretches back to the early days of bone marrow transplant when the subject was new to local medical profession, he recalls, and he learned from handling challenging incidents. Once a freezer storing cells for transplant cracked, leading to liquid nitrogen leakage and impending death of the stored cells. A back-up freezer was quickly found to transfer the precious cells for preservation. On another occasion, a transplant procedure had to be halted promptly at the start when he discovered the cells were dead.

Dr Lie says incidents such as these allowed him and his colleagues to come up with more effective practices to gradually improve procedures. They drew on those early lessons to produce the first QMH Blood Transfusion Manual in 1998 which is updated annually, providing guidelines for staff to further enhance the service quality and patient safety. He now works mainly in the development of haploidentical transplant, which only requires half match with human leucocyte antigens (HLA) between the recipient and donor, to increase the possibility of transplantation, providing patients with a second chance for life.

A jovial and much-loved popular character, Dr Lie has inspirational mottos posted around his office to remind him to be considerate and to always maintain the right attitude. The most influential life advice, however, comes from his parents who taught him to be a useful person. He will retire in this November and advises the new generation of doctors to be daring to rise to challenges and keep pace with the latest medical development to further improve Hong Kong’s health service and make a difference through good teamwork.