Vietnamese doctors succeed in first transplant of two lungs

Doctors from the Hanoi-based Viet Duc Hospital have announced to successfully conduct the first transplant of two lungs from a brain-dead donor on a cancer patient.
Vietnamese doctors succeed in first transplant of two lungs ảnh 1Doctors perform lung transplant operation at Viet Duc Hospital in Hanoi. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Doctors from the Hanoi-based Viet Duc Hospital haveannounced to successfully conduct the first transplant of two lungs from abrain-dead donor on a cancer patient.

Vietnam has so far successfully carried out three transplants of lungs but thisis the first time Vietnamese doctors performed the transplant of two at thesame time successfully.

This was also the first time the Vietnamese doctors could conduct thecomplicated transplant without assistance from foreign experts, said hospitaldirector Tran Binh Giang at a press briefing on December 24.

The transplant of lung was considered the most complicated among organs,according to Doctor Nguyen Huu Uoc, head of the hospital’s Cardio-vascular andThoracic Surgery Department.

Vietnam has so far conducted 3,200 kidney transplant operations, 105 livertransplant operations, 27 heart transplant operations and only three cases oflung transplants.   

The first two transplants of lungs were performed by Vietnamese doctors andtheir foreign partners at Military Hospitals 103 and 108 in Hanoi.

The 17-year-old boy has suffered from Pulmonary Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis,an uncommon cystic interstitial lung disease without complete treatmentmeasures. He has been treated for five years at different hospitals and was invery bad condition before the transplant.

The lungs were donated from a 40-year-old man from the northern province ofNinh Binh.

It took the doctors 14 hours to perform the life-saving surgery.

Over the past ten days, the patient’s health conditions started to show signsof recovery, proving technical success of the surgery, according to doctor Uoc.

Together with the lung transplant, doctorsfrom Viet Duc Hospital performed at the same time a heart transplant for a60-year-old man, a liver transplant for a 63-year-old woman and a kidneytransplant for a 41-year-old man.

Meanwhile, the Pediatrics Hospital No2 in HCM City conducted another kidneytransplant on a 15-year-old boy with the kidney transported from Vietnam Duc Hospital.

All the organs were donated by the brain-dead man from Ninh Binh province.

In order to carry out the multi-organ transplant operations, Viet Duc Hospitalhad to mobilise the participation of more than 100 doctors to perform thesurgery to take out all donated organs from the donor in six hours.

Meanwhile, at the same time, four other surgery rooms at Viet Duc Hospital andone at Pediatrics Hospital No2 in HCM City were ready to receive and transplantthe organs to the patients.

With this success, Viet Duc Hospital set a new record to perform surgeries totake and transplant the most organs at the same time.

Over the last five years, there were19,300 donors that were brain dead or had no heartbeat, according to theNational Coordination Centre for Organ Transplantation.

In 2013, the centre was set up because organ donation in the country had beenlimited.

After a seven-year-old girl from Hanoi, Nguyen HaiAn, donated her cornea to two people – a73-year-old woman and a 42-year-old man – in February of this year, the centrereceived thousands of organ and tissue donor registrations.

This year, the centre has cooperated with Vietnam Airlines to transport tissueand organs on its flights for free.-VNS/VNA
VNA

See more

Member of the Party Central Committee and Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan (Photo: VNA)

Health minister highlights comprehensive, people-centred healthcare orientation

Member of the Party Central Committee and Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan said the Politburo's Resolution No. 72 provides a breakthrough orientation for the protection, care and improvement of the people’s health. It places the people’s health at the centre of all healthcare policies and services, while aiming to address long-standing bottlenecks in the health sector that have yet to be fundamentally resolved.

Elderly people do morning exercises in the Hoan Kiem Lake area in Hanoi. (Photo: VNA)

Strategic roadmap for healthier future

As Vietnam’s population ages rapidly, Dr Angela Pratt, WHO Representative in Vietnam, identified two strategic priorities: strengthening primary healthcare and developing a formal long-term care system. These measures are essential not only for healthy ageing, but also as long-term investments with wide-ranging socio-economic returns.

Professor Dr Tran Van Thuan, Deputy Minister of Health. (File photo: VNA)

More than 300 medical staff assigned to serve 14th National Party Congress

Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan called on experts and healthcare workers to uphold a strong sense of responsibility, professionalism and expertise to ensure that medical services for the 14th National Party Congress are delivered safely, effectively and with the highest level of care.

Health check-up offered to citizens in Gia Lai province. (Photo: VNA)

Health ministry maps out three phases for hospital fee exemption

Health insurance participants from near-poor households and those aged 75 and above who are receiving social pension allowances will be entitled to 100% coverage of medical examination and treatment costs within the scope of health insurance benefits.

A patient pays hospital fees using cashless transactions (Photo: qdnd.vn)

Hanoi aims for modern healthcare system

Hanoi's health sector will continue to expand the comprehensive use of digital technology in professional practices to improve management efficiency and service quality, aiming to develop a modern, transparent, and people-centred healthcare system.

Doctors from the Vietnam Young Physicians Association provide free medical examinations and treatment for residents of the capital. (Photo: VNA)

3.37 billion USD earmarked for public health care, population quality improvement

The programme’s overarching goal is to ensure that all people receive primary healthcare management and early, preventive care delivered close to home, thereby reducing disease burden; to increase the total fertility rate and strive for a balanced sex ratio at birth; to adapt to population ageing while improving population quality; to improve care for vulnerable groups; and to contribute to improvements in physical and mental health, stature, life expectancy and overall quality of life, towards building a healthier Vietnam.

A representative of the Health Strategy and Policy Institute shares the results of a study titled “Assessment of Vietnam’s Readiness for Self-Care and Its Influence Factors”. (Photo courtesy of the organiser)

Vietnam ranks 4th in health self-care readiness

Self-care is an essential component of primary healthcare, with WHO defining it as the ability of individuals, families, and communities to promote and maintain health, prevent disease, and cope with illness with or without the support of healthcare professionals.

A proton machine in a hospital in Singapore. Proton beam therapy provides more options for cancer patients. (Photo courtesy of IHH Healthcare Singapore)

Proton therapy, an alternative method for cancer patients

In recent years, Vietnam's Ministry of Health has held numerous meetings with relevant units to assess the progress in developing proton therapy centres in the country. The project for establishing proton therapy centres is set to commence preparations in 2025 and aims for completion between 2026 and 2030.

At the event (Photo: VNA)

First hospital in Mekong Delta earns US AACI accreditation

Nam Can Tho University Hospital on December 15 hosted a ceremony to announce its accreditation by the American Accreditation Commission International (AACI), a US-based body, becoming the first facility in the Mekong Delta and among a select few in Vietnam to earn the distinction.

A health worker administer IPV polio vaccine to a child in Dong Thap province. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam proactively takes polio prevention measures amid outbreak in Laos

The meeting took place following an assessment by the World Health Organisation (WHO) warning that Vietnam is facing a very high risk of polio import and re-emergence. The risk arises after neighbouring Laos officially declared a polio outbreak on October 7, following the detection of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 (cVDPV1).

National health target programme prioritises the most vulnerable groups (Photo: VietnamPlus)

National target programme on health prioritises most vulnerable groups

The National Assembly on December 11 adopted a resolution on the National Target Programme on Healthcare, Population, and Development for the 2026–2035 period, marking a significant step in Vietnam’s long-term commitment to improving public health and population quality.