Doctors at Việt Nam - Germany Friendship Hospital successfully performed the first simultaneous lung and heart transplant on a patient in Việt Nam in August.— VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam has mastered a series of advanced medical techniques between 2020 and 2025, not only improving public health at home but also strengthening the country’s international medical reputation.

These techniques include organ transplantation, multiple-organ transplants on a single patient, foetal cardiac interventions, cardiovascular procedures, assisted reproduction (in vitro fertilisation), stem cell transplantation, robotic spinal surgery, artificial heart implantation and the use of autologous haematopoietic stem cells in cancer treatment.

In several of these specialised fields, Vietnamese doctors have become mentors, transferring knowledge and skills to colleagues abroad.

Within Việt Nam, such advanced techniques are continually being disseminated from central and top-tier hospitals to provincial hospitals across the country.

Leading the way are the Việt Nam–Germany Friendship Hospital, Chợ Rẫy Hospital and Huế Central Hospital — pioneers in organ transplantation and modern medical technology. Their work has saved countless critically ill patients and given new life to thousands.

With exceptional expertise, state-of-the-art equipment and dedicated medical teams, the three hospitals have become models in the health sector’s patriotic emulation movement, helping Vietnamese medicine reach regional and global standards.

Their achievements also highlight the power of innovation, creativity and relentless effort in improving healthcare quality and fulfilling the mission of 'caring for, protecting and enhancing people’s health' in a new era.

A striking example is the first simultaneous heart-lung transplant in Việt Nam, successfully performed by doctors at the Việt Nam–Germany Friendship Hospital.

During the seven-hour operation, the surgical team used an extracorporeal circulation system to temporarily replace the patient’s heart and lungs. Doctors limited fluid transfusion, used minimal anaesthetic and employed advanced haemodynamic monitoring equipment to ensure the heart functioned properly while avoiding pulmonary oedema.

They also reduced the size of both lungs for a proper fit and, instead of a conventional tracheal connection, joined the two main bronchi to improve blood supply to the anastomoses. Flexible bronchoscopy was performed during surgery to assess the bronchial connections.

With this landmark success, surgeons at the Việt Nam–Germany Friendship Hospital have placed Việt Nam among the few countries capable of performing such complex multi-organ transplants, offering new hope for patients with multiple organ failure.

Hà Anh Đức, Director of the Medical Service Administration under the Ministry of Health, said the achievement was “not just a victory for the Việt Nam–Germany Friendship Hospital but a source of pride for Việt Nam’s entire healthcare sector”.

He added that the feat proved Vietnamese medicine could conquer technical heights once thought impossible, further enhancing the nation’s standing on the global medical map.

“Although Việt Nam started years behind the world, we now stand shoulder to shoulder with leading countries in organ transplantation. The expertise, coordination and determination of our doctors have made this success possible,” he added.

On par with global standards

Việt Nam now has more than 70 assisted reproduction centres, nearly 10 of which meet international standards. Among them, two public hospitals, including the National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, have achieved quality levels comparable to regional and international benchmarks.

This is a remarkable result given that Việt Nam entered the field of reproductive medicine decades after many other countries.

Today, the National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and many other centres nationwide have adopted international quality management systems covering clinical processes, laboratory work and administration while integrating digital technologies to monitor and manage quality. Several have also obtained international certification for their quality systems.

Director of the National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Professor Nguyễn Duy Ánh said: “Although assisted reproduction in Việt Nam developed 15–20 years later than in other parts of the world, we have rapidly caught up in terms of quality.

At the hospital, the success rate of assisted reproduction stands at around 60 per cent, equivalent to regional and global levels.”

Recently, the IVF Mỹ Đức Centre (IVFMD) announced a new scientific achievement known as the 'Saigon Protocol' — a groundbreaking treatment approach developed by its team, inspired by global advances in natural-cycle in vitro fertilisation (IVF without ovarian stimulation).

The results of the new protocol were published in Fertility & Sterility, the official journal of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. It has also been presented at the Asia CORE 2025 Conference in Bali, Indonesia and at several other international scientific events, marking a significant milestone for Việt Nam’s assisted reproduction field on the global stage.

Thanks to Vietnamese doctors’ mastery of advanced reproductive techniques, many infertile couples have realised their dream of becoming parents.

The 'Saigon Protocol' offers multiple benefits. It reduces treatment costs, cutting drug expenses by about 30 per cent and eliminating the need for embryo freezing and thawing; avoids pain from hormone injections, making the process more comfortable and less stressful; and improves safety by eliminating the risk of ovarian hyperstimulation.

It also shortens treatment time to a single cycle for both egg retrieval and fresh embryo transfer. Additionally, it improves embryo and endometrial quality since the endometrium is unaffected by excess hormones and embryos are not compromised by freezing, thereby enhancing embryo viability and raising success rates. — VNS