E Hospital reported on 6/10 that a patient was admitted in a deep coma, cyanotic, and had stopped breathing after drowning. Emergency department doctors immediately performed external chest compressions, administered cardiac stimulants, and used defibrillation. Although the patient's heart resumed beating after resuscitation, prolonged oxygen deprivation caused severe damage to the brain, lungs, and other organs.
Doctor Le Thi Thuong, from the Department of Internal Intensive Care and Anti-poisoning, stated that the team urgently deployed a VA-ECMO system (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), combined with continuous hemodialysis and targeted temperature management to protect the brain. While this circulatory and respiratory support maintained the patient's heart, liver, and kidney functions, brain and lung damage continued to worsen, becoming irreversible.
After many continuous consultations, doctors determined the patient was brain dead. On 2/10, the family decided to donate his tissues and organs. A family representative shared, "This was also our son's wish when he was alive, he wanted his body to help save others".
On the morning of 4/10, the National Coordination Center for Human Organ Transplantation, in collaboration with E Hospital, held an urgent meeting with transplant hospitals from the North, Central, and South regions. The teams agreed to procure multiple organs that same morning, to minimize the time from procurement to transplantation.
The donor's heart was quickly transported to Viet Duc Hospital, where it was transplanted into a pediatric patient with severe heart failure requiring mechanical ventilation and ECMO support. The liver was transferred to Military Central Hospital 108. The two kidneys were transported by air to Gia Dinh People's Hospital and Hue Central Hospital. The two corneas were sent to National Eye Hospital.
Thus, six patients across the North, Central, and South regions received a new chance at life or improved quality of life from the tissues and organs of one donor.
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Medical staff bow in gratitude before organ procurement. Photo: Thanh Xuan. |
Medical staff bow in gratitude before organ procurement. Photo: Thanh Xuan.
In Vietnam, the number of families agreeing to donate tissues and organs from brain-dead relatives has increased significantly in recent years. Before 2023, the proportion of organs donated from brain-dead individuals was below 5% of total transplants, rising to 12,9% in 2024 and nearly 19% in 2025. This shift is due to communication and advocacy efforts at healthcare facilities, fostering greater community openness to the decision of organ donation to save lives after death.
Tissue and organ transplantation is the last resort for treating chronic diseases caused by irreversible organ failure, such as chronic kidney failure, liver failure, heart failure, bone marrow failure, and corneal damage. After over 30 years, the country has performed over 10,000 organ transplants.
Le Nga
