A 20-year-old brain-dead man donated 7 organs to save lives

The young man fell off his motorbike and was taken to Military Hospital 103 for emergency treatment in a deep coma due to severe brain injury. After 5 days of treatment efforts, the patient’s condition did not improve, and the doctor determined brain death. The family agreed to donate their child’s organs to save the lives of many other patients.

On November 27, doctors from Central Military Hospital 108 came to Hospital 103 to assist in the removal and transplantation of multiple organ tissues to ensure safety. After completing the procedure, surgeons received 7 organ tissues from brain dead people, and at the same time transferred liver transplant techniques and post-operative recovery support at Hospital 103.

The boy’s liver, two kidneys, and two corneas were transplanted to 5 patients at Hospital 103. The heart was transferred to Hue Central Hospital to be transplanted to one person, and the lungs were taken to the Central Lung Hospital for transplant. transplant to another patient.

As of this morning, the organ transplant patients are progressing in good health. The liver transplant patient was awake, extubated and could talk normally right after the surgery. This is the third liver transplant that Hospital 108 has supported in technical transfer with Hospital 103, from the beginning of 2024 until now.

Major General Prof. Dr. Le Huu Song, Director of Hospital 108, said that during the year the hospital signed a contract to transfer liver transplant technology to 4 medical facilities. To date, Hospital 108 has performed nearly 250 liver transplants, nearly 500 kidney transplants, two heart transplants, 4 lung transplants and 4 limb transplants.

“The hospital has become the number one liver transplant center in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, with 50 cases a year, striving to reach 100 cases a year in the coming period,” Professor Dr. Song said.

10 days ago, an 18-year-old boy from An Giang, who had a traffic accident and was treated at Thong Nhat Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, was determined to be brain dead. His family donated his organs to 7 people in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Hue.

Organ transplantation is one of the most important achievements of human medicine since the 20th century. From the first kidney transplant in 1992 until now, the country has had more than 9,000 organ transplants performed. Of these, there are mainly kidney transplants with more than 8,000 cases, 650 liver transplants, 90 heart transplants, 11 lung transplants, and a few remaining intestine or organ transplants.

The first organ transplant from a brain-dead donor in Vietnam was performed in May 2010. As of November 2024, after 32 years of organ transplantation and 14 years of taking organs from brain-dead donors, the whole country recorded 183 brain-dead organ donors. The number of brain-dead people donating organ tissue has increased recently, but is still small and among the lowest in the world. Of these, the rate of organ transplants from brain-dead donors accounts for only 6%, the remaining are transplants from living donors.