Viet Duc Hospital Director, Associate Professor Duong Duc Hung, announced on the morning of 19/3, a week after the historic procedure, that the hospital successfully performed Vietnam's first domino liver transplant. He stated, "We carried out a special multi-organ transplant, marking the first time Vietnam has successfully implemented this technique, which optimizes the scarce supply of donated organs."

The heart and liver transplant patients are currently in stable health. Photo: Hospital provided

The two organ recipients are now conscious, able to sit up, and eat normally. The process began on 11/3 when experts diagnosed a 42-year-old woman as brain-dead following a traffic accident. They decided to harvest her heart, liver, two kidneys, and some tissues. Among those on the transplant waiting list, a 53-year-old man with the rare genetic disease amyloidosis presented the most complex case. This condition causes the body to produce abnormal proteins that accumulate and gradually destroy organs, particularly leading to progressive heart failure.

To eliminate the source of mutant protein production and replace the damaged heart muscle, the surgical team performed a simultaneous heart and liver transplant for the 53-year-old man. His own liver remained healthy, without cirrhosis or impaired function. Instead of discarding it, surgeons immediately harvested this organ for a 64-year-old man with liver cancer and hepatitis B, whose prognosis was previously only months.

Associate Professor Doctor Nguyen Quang Nghia, Director of the Organ Transplant Center, explained the domino transplant technique maximizes organ utilization. The liver from an amyloidosis patient, despite producing abnormal proteins, can function effectively for many years in a new body. This procedure extends the lifespan of end-stage liver cancer patients from an estimated 6-12 months to 7-10 years.

The global medical community has used this method since 1995, performing over 1,200 cases. Studies show that 3,3-21% of domino liver recipients develop neurological symptoms after 5-10 years. Doctors can monitor and intervene promptly, allowing recipients to live healthily with the new organ for at least 10-15 years.

Doctors performing a multi-organ transplant for the patient. Photo: Hospital provided

Doctor Ha Anh Duc, Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment, stated that this transplant signifies a major advancement, demonstrating Vietnam's proficiency in complex organ transplant techniques. Vietnam is now the first country in Southeast Asia to successfully perform this procedure.

Viet Duc Hospital has achieved many advancements in multi-organ transplantation. For several consecutive weeks, it performed transplants for numerous patients, including simultaneous procedures like heart-liver, heart-lung, and liver-kidney. To date, the hospital has completed nearly 3,000 organ transplants from living and brain-dead donors, encompassing heart, lung, liver, and kidney procedures.

Le Nga