Two brain-dead people donated organs on Christmas Eve to save 12 people

On December 26, a representative of Phu Tho Provincial General Hospital said the first man admitted to the hospital was in a coma and was diagnosed with cerebral hemorrhage due to hypertension. After 11 days of intensive treatment and resuscitation by doctors, the patient’s condition did not improve, he fell into a deep coma, and gradually fell into a state of brain death.

The second person was also hospitalized when in a coma and was diagnosed with cerebral hemorrhage due to a ruptured anterior cerebral aneurysm. After two days of intensive treatment, the patient lost reflexes and was also assessed as brain dead.

Doctors advised the family about donating tissues and organs to save many others and received their consent. On the night of December 25 and morning of December 26, doctors took tissues and organs from the above two patients, including 2 hearts, 2 livers, 4 kidneys, and 4 corneas.

Kidneys were transplanted immediately at Phu Tho Provincial General Hospital. The remaining tissues and organs were transferred to Viet Duc Hospital, Central Eye Hospital, Central Military Hospital 108 for transplant to waiting patients. Currently, all are progressing well after transplantation.

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 more than 180 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.