Vietnam has gradually mastered some of the world’s most complex transplant techniques since the country’s first successful kidney transplant in 1992. As of 2025, Vietnam had conducted 10,878 organ transplants, with 34 licensed hospitals now capable of performing transplant procedures.
When one heart stops beating so that others may live on, it represents not only a medical transfer but also a continuation of compassion and humanity, said Professor Dr Pham Nhu Hiep, Director of the Hue Central Hospital.
A 19-year-old British tourist who died during a trip to Vietnam has saved the lives of three Vietnamese patients with end-stage organ failure, in a deeply moving act of compassion. The young woman is the first foreign national to donate organs in Vietnam.
The decision by the family of a 19-year-old British tourist to donate her organs after her death in Vietnam has touched hearts across the country, while also drawing attention to the remarkable progress Vietnam has made in organ transplantation and international medical integration.
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.
The 108 Military Central Hospital, on January 12, announced that it had successfully performed a multi-organ transplant from a brain-dead donor, a health care worker.
Most recently, University Medical Centre HCM City successfully performed two simultaneous transplants, a heart and a liver, using organs donated from a brain-dead patient at People’s Hospital 115.
The 56-year-old patient from Quang Tri province was discharged in stable condition as he no longer experienced shortness of breath and was able to walk, move around, and eat normally.
After such a long time, the law has revealed many limitations, prompting the Ministry of Health (MoH) to gather opinions to amend the law to give more chances to thousands of patients every year.
Thong Nhat Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City announced on June 16 that the transplants were successfully performed using the man’s donated organs.
At the launching ceremony for the campaign at the hospital on March 25, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Tuan Canh, NOH Director underscored organ donation is a symbol of human compassion that transcends life itself, with each donated liver, kidney, cornea or tissue able offer a life-saving opportunity to those teetering on the edge of death.
The surgeries marked significant milestones in organ donation counselling and advocacy efforts across southern localities, helping to expand the national organ donation network, spread a message of humanity, and offer hope and life-saving opportunities to many patients.
Dozens of organ and tissue donation advocacy groups have been established, with strong participation of both public and private healthcare facilities, helping to significantly lift the number of individuals registering for posthumous organ and tissue donation, heard a conference in Hanoi on January 7.
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.
Statistics of the Ministry of Health show that in the past two years, more than 1,000 organ transplants have been performed each year, the highest in Southeast Asia.
In a move to raise awareness of organ donation, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has registered as a donor himself, calling on all Vietnamese citizens to follow suit.
