Currently, Vietnam is the only ASEAN country that performs over 1,000 organ transplants per year, of which organs from brain-dead donors account for 6% and organs from living donors account for 94%. The need for organ transplants is huge, however, very few people register to donate organs after brain death.

Doctors in a lung transplant for a patient.

However, in recent times, due to adjustments in transplantation and the campaign to mobilize organ donors, along with the support of the National Organ Transplant Coordination Center and the internal medicine system of hospitals, the number of organ transplants from brain-dead donors has increased. In 2024, Viet Duc Friendship Hospital strives to make great strides in the number of organ transplants from brain-dead donors.

According to experts, in the field of organ transplantation, the potential and opportunity to save patients' lives is huge. With the support and participation of the Government, the attention of the Ministry of Health, authorities at all levels, and changes in people's awareness, the leaders of Viet Duc Friendship Hospital believe that in the coming period, there will be a breakthrough in organ transplantation from brain-dead donors.

Among organ transplant techniques, according to Dr. Duong Duc Hung, Director of Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, lung transplant is still a challenge. In particular, the technical expertise of lung transplant is very different from the transplant techniques of many other organs.

Furthermore, unlike the heart, lung transplants must be prepared well in advance. To complete the lung transplant procedure, there must be close coordination between the internal medicine of the recipient and the donor. A brain-dead patient donates a lung, and if no unit is ready to wait for the transplant, the lung will have to be discarded.

Because of the above difficulties, lung transplants in Vietnam are still performed sporadically, individually, in a few cases... Meanwhile, if lung transplants are to become a treatment method for patients with end-stage chronic lung disease, there is no other way but to rearrange lung transplant work, with close coordination between specialties.

It is known that lung disease is currently the leading cause of disability and death in the world. In Vietnam, according to the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Central Lung Hospital, about 6.7% of cases have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 6-7% of cases have interstitial lung disease and require lifelong treatment. Many cases only have a chance to live with a lung transplant.

However, heart-lung transplantation is currently the most difficult technique and cardiopulmonary resuscitation from donors also faces many challenges.

It is known that on average, Viet Duc Friendship Hospital can perform about 200-300 organ transplants each year. In addition, the hospital also has about 300 deaths due to traumatic brain injury each year, this is a very large number.

A brain-dead person can donate organs to save the lives of 8 others and a brain-dead person can help improve the lives of 75-100 others. In the future, Viet Duc Friendship Hospital will also implement new organ transplant techniques such as pancreas transplant, heart-lung transplant, heart valve transplant...

To date, Vietnam has successfully performed 9 lung transplants, including 1 at Hue Central Hospital, 1 at Military Hospital 103, 4 at Military Central Hospital 108, and 3 at Viet Duc Friendship Hospital. Of these, 2 patients survived after lung transplants: 1 at Military Hospital 103 and 1 at Military Central Hospital 108.

The most successful lung transplant to date was on a patient with end-stage pulmonary fibrosis. In 2020, the Central Lung Hospital in collaboration with the 108 Military Central Hospital successfully performed a lung transplant for Mr. NXT (Thanh Hoa) with end-stage pulmonary fibrosis.

The surgery was performed strictly and methodically according to international standards from the UCSF Lung Transplant Center - one of the 9 largest and most prestigious lung transplant centers in the United States.

The entire preparation process from brain-dead donors to lung transplant recipients is evaluated, diagnosed, and treated strictly according to the standards of the UCSF Heart-Lung Transplant Center. This is the most comprehensive and successful lung transplant at the highest level at UCSF.

After nearly 3 years of lung transplant, the patient has recovered well and is completely healthy, with stable respiratory function. This is the surgery that experts consider the most successful to date, in the context that Vietnam has performed many lung transplants from brain-dead donors, but the success rate is not high, and the life expectancy of the recipient after lung transplant is not long.

The most recent successful major lung transplant was performed on the afternoon of the 30th of Lunar New Year. To perform the transplant, the Central Lung Hospital mobilized about 80 hospital staff to directly participate (and many other staff were ready to mobilize and work online), with coordination and support from the National Organ Transplant Coordination Center, Hospital 108, Hospital E, Friendship Hospital, Hanoi Heart Hospital, etc.

After consulting with Prof. Jasleen, Director of the UCSF Lung Transplant Center (the largest prestigious medical center in the Western United States), Prof. Dr. Le Ngoc Thanh (President of the Vietnam Cardiothoracic Surgery Association), Dr. Nguyen Cong Huu (Director of Hospital E), they decided to start this lung transplant.

The surgery was performed on February 9, 2024 (New Year's Eve), lasting 12 hours (from 10:00 to 22:00) by Dr. Dinh Van Luong, Director of the Central Lung Hospital, along with doctors and experts from the Central Lung Hospital in coordination with Prof. Dr. Le Ngoc Thanh, Rector of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy - Vietnam National University, Hanoi, and doctors and experts from E Hospital. The transplant was a great success at the highest level according to UCSF standards.

In the world, lung transplants are mostly performed in developed countries because this is a very difficult and expensive organ transplant technique, but at the Central Lung Hospital, this transplant was successfully performed on a poor patient in the mountainous region of Bac Kan.

The successful transplant is a major milestone recognizing the remarkable progress of the doctors at the Central Lung Hospital with special instructions and attention from the Ministry of Health and the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management.

According to Dr. Dinh Van Luong, Director of the Central Lung Hospital, the burden of lung disease tends to increase significantly, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic, making the need to develop advanced and effective techniques more urgent than ever to meet people's needs.

Therefore, the Director of the Central Lung Hospital hopes that the proposals on technical procedures for lung transplantation and regenerative medicine will be approved by the Ministry of Health, from which health insurance will pay for lung transplants, so that more and more transplant patients can benefit.