On the last working day of the Year of the Dragon, more than 200 doctors and nurses of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City performed organ retrieval and transplantation for 4 people from a brain-dead donor.
Associate Professor, Doctor, Doctor Nguyen Hoang Bac, Director of Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, Head of the Southern Region Inter-Hospital Organ and Tissue Donation Association, said that in the days leading up to Lunar New Year, the unit received a patient in critical condition. Despite intensive treatment by the medical team, the patient's condition did not improve and he fell into a state of brain death.
Immediately, the hospital's Social Work Department staff explained the meaning of organ donation to the patient's family.
With a humanitarian heart, the patient's relatives agreed to donate organs to save other patients.
The expert council has repeatedly evaluated and concluded: the patient is brain dead and eligible for organ donation.
On the afternoon of January 24, an urgent meeting between the National Organ Transplant Coordination Center, experts from Viet Duc Friendship Hospital (Hanoi), and responsible units of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City took place to review preparations and plans for coordinating the collection and transplantation of multiple organs.
Doctors also review and evaluate the condition of suitable patients on the transplant waiting list, ensuring good compatibility with the donated organ.
The plan to take organs as well as transplant the entire organ was decided to be carried out right at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City.
At 8pm on January 24, the teams took turns removing the heart, liver and two kidneys from the donor's body. Immediately afterwards, the organ transplant team also joined in and performed the transplants overnight for the patients. The kidney, heart and liver transplants for the four patients were completed in the early morning of January 25.
The heart was transplanted to a 12-year-old boy with restrictive cardiomyopathy, the liver was transplanted to a patient with hepatocellular carcinoma, and two kidneys were transplanted to two patients with end-stage renal failure.
To ensure timely organ retrieval and transplantation, Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital has mobilized more than 200 doctors, nurses, and logistics staff.
“Because the organ retrieval and donation took place right before Tet, many doctors and nurses had planned to take a Tet holiday, but with a sense of responsibility and appreciation for the precious gift from the donor and his family, the doctors and nurses tried to stay to complete the transplants as well as provide post-operative care for the patients,” Associate Professor, Doctor, Physician Nguyen Hoang Bac informed.
Previously, Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital also successfully performed a procedure to retrieve tissues and organs from a brain-dead donor and retrieved 6 organs to save the lives of 6 patients.
The heart and two corneas were transferred to Hue for transplant to two patients at Hue Central Hospital; the liver was transplanted to a patient with liver cancer and two kidneys were transplanted to two patients with end-stage renal failure right at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City.
These are the first achievements of the establishment of the "Southern Region Inter-Hospital Organ and Tissue Donation Association" and the Launching Ceremony of "Registering for Organ and Tissue Donation - Giving is Forever" held at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City in December 2024.
The event is also an important milestone in the work of consulting and mobilizing organ donation in the southern provinces, contributing to expanding the organ donation network nationwide, spreading the message of humanity, helping many patients have the opportunity to be saved.
“The successful mobilization of two cases of organ donation and implementation of multiple organ transplants in a short time marks the important role of the organ donation mobilization team, as well as the hospital’s proactiveness and readiness in collecting and transplanting multiple organs. We hope that this humanitarian action will continue to spread, opening up more opportunities for recovery for patients in need of organ transplants,” Associate Professor, Doctor, Physician Nguyen Hoang Bac shared.
University (according to Vietnam+)