Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s organ donation and transplantation sector is entering a new phase of development, underscored by rising public awareness, stronger institutional coordination, and notable medical achievements.
According to Associate Professor Dong Van He, Director of the Vietnam National Coordinating Centre for Human Organ Transplantation, 2025 marked an historic turning point, with 66 cases of organ donation recorded nationwide – the highest figure to date.
Encouragingly, in the early months of 2026, nearly 10 additional cases of tissue and organ donation have been reported, signalling continued momentum across the national network.
26-year-old woman’s final gift of light
On March 6, in Hai Tien commune, Ninh Binh province, 26-year-old Pham Thi Huong passed away after a prolonged battle with end-stage cancer. At the prime of her youth, she chose to conclude her life journey with a profound act of generosity: donating her corneas to restore sight to others.
Upon receiving notification from her family, a retrieval team from the Tissue Bank at Hanoi Eye Hospital 2 immediately set out. They worked within the critical six- to eight-hour window required for cornea recovery.
Phan Duc Tam, a staff member of the Tissue Bank who had personally assisted Huong in registering as a donor during her lifetime, recalled her remarkable resilience. Even in the most painful stages of her illness, she remained optimistic and directly contacted the Tissue Bank to express her wish to donate.
Her motivation, though simple, carried strong resonance: “Giving is also a way of receiving. I give light to someone. When others know, they may follow. Perhaps, in some way, that light will return to my parents and to those around me.”
Despite their immense grief, Huong’s family honoured her final wish, supporting the medical team in carrying out the donation. The case marked the first cornea donation in Hai Tien commune following recent administrative restructuring, representing a meaningful shift in local perceptions of organ donation.
Huong’s passing is not an end, but a continuation - her corneas will soon bring light to patients who have long waited in darkness.
More than 30 hospitals have successfully provided counselling for tissue and organ donation cases.
Associate Professor Duong Duc Hung, Director of Viet Duc University Hospital, noted that since the beginning of 2026, the hospital has successfully mobilised five cases of organ donation.
In 2025 alone, the hospital performed 284 transplant procedures, nearly half of which involved organs from brain-dead donors. These included complex interventions such as pediatric and geriatric heart transplants, simultaneous liver-kidney transplants completed within six hours, and combined heart-liver transplants.
At the national level, the 66 organ donations recorded in 2025 accounted for more than 25% of all such donations over the past 15 years. From 2010 to 2025, Vietnam documented a total of 262 cases, highlighting the steady upward trajectory of the system.
The country’s transplant achievements have also reached new technical heights, including performing two lung transplants in a single day and conducting combined heart-lung transplantation on a single patient.
Currently, 109 hospitals nationwide participate in the organ donation and transplantation network. To date, more than 30 hospitals have successfully counselled families on organ and tissue donation. Intensive care teams are becoming increasingly proactive, while diagnostic and coordination procedures have been standardised and systematised. These developments point to long-term, structural progress rather than short-term campaigns.
Notably, amendments to the Law on Donation, Removal and Transplantation of Human Tissues and Organs are expected to bring Vietnam closer to international practices, and ensure greater equity and humanity in implementation.
Since the country’s first transplant in 1992, Vietnam has performed more than 9,500 organ transplants. Over 102,000 individuals have registered as donors nationwide, with participation rising rapidly in recent years. However, organ donations remain limited, even as demand continues to grow. While Vietnam records the highest number of transplants annually in Southeast Asia, exceeding 1,000 procedures per year, its rate of post-mortem donation remains among the lowest globally./.
