Doctors at Children’s Hospital 2 in HCM City perform a kidney transplant for a pediatric patient. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — Children’s Hospital 2 in HCM City has successfully transplanted a kidney from a brain-dead donor in Quảng Ninh Province to a seven-year-old boy with congenital kidney failure, the hospital announced on Thursday.

The child, identified as C.B., developed kidney failure at 45 days old and has been on dialysis since 2.5 months of age. 

Associate Professor Phạm Ngọc Thạch, the hospital’s deputy director, said the hospital received notice on July 25 from the National Organ Transplant Coordination Center about a 19-year-old male declared brain dead after a traffic accident in Quảng Ninh Province. 

A Children’s Hospital 2 team travelled the same day to recover organs. The procurement surgery began at 10pm on July 25, after legally confirming brain death.

In the early hours of July 26, the team transported the kidney on the first flight to HCM City, a journey of more than 1,700km. The transplant started at 12:30pm the same day following crossmatch results.

Associate Professor Huỳnh Thị Vũ Quỳnh, head of the hospital’s Nephrology and Endocrinology Department, said the boy has urine flowing backward into the kidneys and was born with underdeveloped kidneys. He is very underweight, has an enlarged heart, bone problems, and calcium buildup from a hormone imbalance, these make blood clots and narrowed blood vessels more likely during surgery.

The operation was described as particularly challenging given the patient’s age, low weight and multiple comorbidities.

The hospital said the case marks the first time its team independently handled the full process from organ acceptance and transport to patient preparation and transplantation.

Children’s Hospital 2 has performed more than 50 pediatric kidney transplants to date, including three from brain-dead donors, deputy director Thạch said, adding that the hospital deeply appreciated organ donation and hoped more children would receive transplants from brain-dead donors in the future. — VNS