HANOI: Vietnam’s achievements in organ transplantation have earned global recognition, placing the country among the few nations capable of performing the most complex multi-organ transplants in the world, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.
In mid-August, Viet Duc University Hospital announced that its doctors successfully performed Vietnam’s first-ever combined heart–lung transplant, marking a major step forward for the country’s medical field.
“With this success, we have proudly raised Vietnam’s red flag on the world’s map of multi-organ transplantation,” said the hospital’s Director Prof Duong Duc Hung.
This represents a breakthrough in Vietnam’s medical capacity and opens new hope for patients with end-stage organ failure, he said.
Vietnam started organ transplantation much later than other countries, but has made remarkable progress over the past three decades.
The nation’s first kidney transplant was carried out in 1992 at the 103 Military Hospital, marking the beginning of its transplant journey.
Early operations mainly involved kidney and liver transplants from living donors due to limited legal and community support for organ donation after brain death.
A turning point came in 2010, when Vietnamese doctors performed the first heart transplant from a brain-dead donor, a landmark achievement in the country’s medical history.
By 2020, Vietnam recorded two world-class medical milestones, the first limb transplant in Southeast Asia and the world’s first limb transplant from a living donor, conducted at the 108 Central Military Hospital.
The same year, the103 Military Hospital performed the first two intestinal transplants, completing Vietnam’s ability to transplant all six major organs, like kidney, liver, heart, pancreas-kidney, lung, and intestine.
That success placed Vietnam among the 20 countries worldwide mastering these high-end techniques.
VNA reported that In 2024, Viet Duc University Hospital achieved another breakthrough with the simultaneous heart and liver transplant, a surgery previously performed only in a few advanced nations such as the United States (US) and those in Europe and this year, the hospital again made history with the country’s first combined heart–lung transplant, one of the most complex operations in global medicine.
Globally, such surgeries are extremely rare - only around 100 cases per year - due to the scarcity of suitable organs and the high risk of complications.
Survival rates, however, have improved significantly, at about 85 per cent after 90 days and 72 per cent after one year in the United Kingdom and nearly 90 per cent after one year in the US.
It reported Director of the Department of Medical Services Administration under the Health Ministry Dr Ha Anh Duc, said these achievements are a source of pride for Vietnam’s healthcare system and clear proof that its doctors can conquer challenges once thought impossible.
