Artists register as an organ donor at the campaign “Giving is forever” organised by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the HCM City People’s Committee and the Việt Nam Tissue and Organ Donation Advocacy Association on December 30. —VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — The Ministry of Health in collaboration with the HCM City People’s Committee and the Việt Nam Tissue and Organ Donation Advocacy Association on Monday launched an organ and tissue donation campaign to call on Vietnamese adults to register as an organ donor.

The campaign, called “Giving is forever”, 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 launching ceremony, chairman of the city People’s Committee Phan Văn Mãi 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 propaganda and mobilisation, he said.

In addition, the city will study policies to honor and encourage organisations and individuals to participate in organ and tissue donation registration.

Việt Nam has now 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 Đào Hồng Lan.

Việt Nam’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 per cent of the total number of organ transplants. —VNS