Doctors at Thống Nhất Hospital in Hồ Chí Minh City performing the operation. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — In a significant feat of medical coordination, seven patients across Việt Nam have received life-saving organ transplants from a single brain-dead donor following a complex, multi-hospital operation spanning the country.

Late Monday, Thống Nhất Hospital in HCM City announced the successful completion of a cross-regional organ donation and transplant campaign. The hospital collaborated closely with Chợ Rẫy Hospital, 108 Military Central Hospital, Huế Central Hospital, Children's Hospital 2 and supporting units including traffic police, Tân Sơn Nhất Airport and national carrier Vietnam Airlines to retrieve and transport seven organs from one donor for transplantation into seven critically ill patients.

The donor, N.H.N., a 39-year-old man from the south-central province of Phú Yên, was admitted to Thống Nhất Hospital on June 11 with a severe traumatic brain injury. He had suffered extensive brain damage and haemorrhaging, and had fallen into a deep coma.

Despite the dedicated efforts of emergency and neurosurgical teams, N.H.N. was declared brain-dead. After extensive consultation and support from the hospital’s Organ and Tissue Donation Advocacy Committee, his family gave their consent for organ donation.

A multi-disciplinary panel comprising internal and external experts was convened to formally assess and confirm the donor's brain-dead status. Following confirmation, on the morning of June 13, Director of Thống Nhất Hospital Associate Professor Dr Lê Đình Thanh chaired a joint consultation with specialists from the National Coordinating Centre for Organ Transplantation, 108 Military Central Hospital in Hà Nội, Huế Central Hospital and Children's Hospital 2 in HCM City.

Relatives bade farewell to of N.H.N. — VNA/VNS Photo

The surgical retrieval of organs began at 3:30pm that day. The procedure was a success, and seven organs were quickly dispatched to recipient hospitals via coordinated air and ground transport.

The two kidneys remained in HCM City and were successfully transplanted into two patients at Thống Nhất Hospital. A heart, a portion of the liver and two corneas were transported to Huế Central Hospital and transplanted into four separate patients. The remaining portion of the liver was delivered to Children’s Hospital 2 and transplanted into a paediatric patient.

All seven transplants were reported successful, and the recipients are currently recovering under medical supervision. Thống Nhất Hospital also arranged a respectful return of the donor’s body to his hometown in Phú Yên for burial. — VNS