Surgeons recover organs from the brain-dead donor at Quảng Ninh General Hospital on May 10. — VNA/VNS Photo

QUẢNG NINH — A father of three who died following a traffic accident last week donated his organs to save multiple critically ill patients, in a complex surgery involving nearly 100 medical professionals.

Nguyễn Thanh Tùng, 38, from the northern province of Quảng Ninh, was declared brain-dead despite doctors' efforts to save him after the crash.

His family, grieving but determined to honour the man they had known as a devoted father and habitual blood donor, agreed to donate his organs, extending in death what had been a life defined by giving.

His heart was airlifted to HCM City, where surgeons at the University Medical Centre HCM City transplanted it into a 23-year-old patient whose heart was functioning at just 10 per cent of normal capacity.

The organs are being transported to hospitals across Việt Nam, where patients await transplants. — VNA/VNS Photo

Both kidneys were transplanted on-site at Quảng Ninh General Hospital, benefiting two patients with end-stage renal failure. His liver went to the Việt Đức University Hospital in Hà Nội, and both corneas were sent to the National Eye Hospital, also in the capital.

Hospital officials called it the fourth organ donation case on record in Quảng Ninh and the second time the provincial hospital had performed a multi-organ recovery and on-site kidney transplant. They also called it a milestone, one that brought future liver, cornea, and heart transplants within reach.

"His act of generosity sends a powerful message about compassion," the hospital director said, expressing gratitude to Tùng and his family. — VNS