Dương Đức Hùng, Director of Việt Đức Friendship Hospital. VNA/VNS Photo Hiếu Hoàng

Recent successful organ transplant cases have positioned Việt Nam as a notable player in organ transplantation in Southeast Asia and beyond.

Vietnam News Agency talked to Dr. Dương Đức Hùng, Director of Việt Đức Friendship Hospital, a leading hospital in Việt Nam in organ transplantation on how these medical advancements will provide life-saving opportunities for many people, particularly those suffering from severe diseases with limited treatment options.

How do you evaluate recent organ transplant work at Việt Đức Friendship Hospital, considering Việt Nam's transplantation techniques have gained recognition globally?

Việt Đức Friendship Hospital has a long history, especially in organ transplantation, particularly kidney transplants. The first kidney transplant performed by our hospital's doctors was in 2002, followed by liver, heart and lung transplants.

After more than 20 years of development, the number of organ transplants at Việt Đức Friendship Hospital is the highest nationwide. Our doctors have performed over 1,900 kidney transplants, 120 liver transplants, and around 70 heart-lung transplants.

Annually, our doctors perform an average of about 250 kidney transplants, the highest in the country. Additionally, for the past 15 years, the hospital has been implementing a multi-organ transplantation program from brain-dead donors and is also the leading medical facility in the country in terms of the number of organ transplants from brain-dead donors. To date, there have been 200 cases of organ transplants from brain-dead donors, and the number has been increasing in recent years.

Organ transplantation is not among the most technically difficult surgical procedures, but it requires meticulous organisation. Our doctors have mastered organ transplantation techniques very well. Through international cooperation and exchanges of information, we believe that Vietnamese doctors, especially those at Việt Đức Friendship Hospital, are not inferior to foreign doctors in organ transplantation, and in some difficult cases, not every foreign hospital can perform as well as us.

For example, just last March, our doctors successfully performed a heart transplant from a brain-dead donor. The patient had previously undergone heart surgery at another hospital, but the condition worsened, and despite all supportive measures, there was no improvement. Fortunately, at that time, there was a brain-dead donor. The patient was on the heart transplant priority list, and the transplant process took place immediately.

The patient has almost fully recovered, being able to walk, eat and engage in physical activities. Later, the patient can return to normal life, activities and work.

What are the key factors in maintaining the long-term success of organ transplantations for patients?

One of the crucial factors determining the long-term success of organ transplantation is the post-transplant patient management, immunosuppressive drug therapy and adjustment of drug doses.

At Việt Đức Hospital, for kidney transplants, we manage thousands of patients after transplantation with regular check-ups, medication adjustments and health-related advice. Based on these needs, a club for organ transplant recipients has been established and is proving effective. The club meets monthly or quarterly, or holds forums on social media platforms for post-transplant patients to share experiences with each other.

In practice, there are two important factors in organ transplantation: technical expertise and the organ donation campaign. We are implementing comprehensive and determined solutions to raise awareness about organ donation among the public.

In recent years, the hospital has been promoting and establishing Organ Donation Advocacy Associations. The establishment of these associations is a leap forward, a milestone in raising awareness about organ donation to a new level, as well as creating favourable conditions for the hospital to better coordinate with other units and other hospitals in the healthcare sector, towards increasing the number of organ donors.

Organ donations received from brain-dead donors are precious gifts for many patients. For instance, on January 3 and 4, 2024, a team of doctors at the hospital successfully performed two multiple organ retrievals from brain-dead donors within 24 hours.

About 100 doctors conducted two major surgeries consecutively within 24 hours at Việt Đức Friendship Hospital, from the evening of January 3 to the morning of January 4, to retrieve and transplant 27 organs and tissues. There were six operating rooms running continuously to transplant organs for patients, with a procedure where doctors immediately move on to the next transplant after completing one.

As a result, two patients received heart transplants, two patients received liver transplants and four patients received kidney transplants. Additionally, two corneas and a liver were transferred to Military Central Hospital 108 and two corneas were sent to National Eye Hospital for suitable recipients. Other organs and tissues are being stored in the organ bank for other patients. The successful organ transplants have led to stable health conditions for the patients after the procedures.

Doctors of Việt Đức Friendship Hospital perform an organ transplant on a patient. VNA/VNS Photo Hiếu Hoàng

Organ transplantation is a medical achievement that for many is akin to a miracle, offering them a chance at life. However, compared to the actual demand, the number of organ transplant cases in the country is still very limited. What are the challenges that doctors and patients face in this regard?

The demand for organ transplantation among patients waiting for transplants is huge when other treatment methods are no longer effective, and transplantation is the last resort. The reality also shows that the results of organ transplantation are positive, leading to an increasing number of patients in need of transplants and registering for them at Việt Đức Friendship Hospital and other hospitals nationwide. However, the demand from registered patients for organ transplants is high, but the organ donation sources are extremely limited, resulting in an ever-growing waiting list.

This is also the responsibility of the healthcare sector as well as Việt Đức Friendship Hospital, to figure out how to provide more transplants for patients.

From my observations at the hospital, I've noticed a very concerning phenomenon where there are a significant number of brain-dead potential donors. These are people who died from traffic accidents and diseases - almost unchanged from five to ten years ago, but the rate of organ donation after brain death is very low among those who are potential donors.

The issue here lies in people's poor understanding of this matter. Therefore, the responsibility of the healthcare sector is to intensify efforts to communicate among the public and hospitals about organ donation after brain death to obtain more organ sources for patient treatment.

Another issue is that Việt Đức Friendship Hospital has recently received many transplant patients from other places, and even patients who have been transplanted abroad come for follow-up and post-transplant treatment. However, there is a discrepancy in the treatment costs for post-transplant patients, which are quite high. While most patients use health insurance to cover expenses, this leads to a budget overrun for the hospital, which increases significantly each year and will continue to rise.

This also creates difficulties for the hospital when the budget is exceeded due to high patient treatment costs, especially for large hospitals that excel in transplantation like Việt Đức Friendship Hospital, as well as other hospitals nationwide.

What solutions are needed to truly provide more opportunities for patients to live through organ transplantation in the future?

Widely disseminating organ transplantation techniques to other hospitals is a good transfer to allow more patients to benefit from advanced techniques. However, we must also understand that the success of organ transplantation is not just about the transplantation technique but also relates to organ sourcing, treatment, follow-up, and post-transplant patient management.

For example, a facility that performs only 10 or 20 transplants per year will undoubtedly have less experience in post-transplant procedures than one that performs many. Therefore, I believe that adjustments to professional regulations and financial mechanisms are needed to promote well-equipped healthcare facilities. Specifically, in all regions, hospitals that play a leading role in transplantation with a large number of patients, when given responsibilities, must also come with decentralisation mechanisms and financial mechanisms to ensure that they are well-equipped to fulfil their assigned tasks. VNS