HCM City (VNA) – An organ and tissue donation campaign was launched in Ho Chi Minh City on December 30, calling on Vietnamese adults to register as organ donors.
The launching ceremony was held by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the HCM City People’s Committee and the Vietnam Tissue and Organ Donation Advocacy Association.
The campaign is aimed at raising public awareness of organ and tissue donation, a beautiful deed that saves the lives of thousands of patients.
Speaking at the event, Chairman of the city People’s Committee Phan Van Mai pledged to invest in facilities to effectively carry out the campaign.
The city authorities will direct the health sector and related agencies to closely coordinate with central agencies and organ donation coordination agencies to implement this campaign synchronously, focusing on the communications work, he said.
In addition, the city will study policies to honour and encourage organisations and individuals to participate in organ and tissue donation registration.
Vietnam has mastered the expertise and technology to coordinate organ transplants. However, the source of donated organs and tissues from deceased people is still scarce compared to the demand for transplants, according to Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan.
Vietnam’s organ donation rate is among the lowest in the world, while the transplant rate is the highest in Southeast Asia with more than 1,000 cases a year, she said.
In recent years, there is an average of 10 to 12 cases of organ donation from deceased people each year.
There were 39 cases of organ transplants from deceased people this year, accounting for 13% of the total number of organ transplants./.
