Doctor Nguyễn Đức Huân (4th right) poses with the first IVF baby and her mother at the Assisted Reproduction Centre at Lào Cai Obstetrics and Paediatrics Hospital. Photo suckhoedoisong.vn

LÀO CAI — A young doctor is quietly bringing hope and happiness to couples struggling with infertility in the mountainous province of Lào Cai.

He is Nguyễn Đức Huân, deputy director of the Assisted Reproduction Centre at Lào Cai Obstetrics and Paediatrics Hospital.

Unlike the maternity ward, where laughter often fills the air, or the emergency department, where staff hurry between patients, the corridor of the Assisted Reproduction Centre is lined with rows of silent seats. Couples sit close together, holding hands tightly as they cling to the hope of having a child after months or years of waiting.

“At the Assisted Reproduction Centre, there are sorrows that are particularly heartbreaking,” Huân told suckhoedoisong.vn.

“There is longing in patients’ eyes as they watch their friends holding their babies, and the silence of husbands after another disappointing result,” he said.

These stories have driven the young doctor to help couples struggling with infertility regain hope and help women realise their long cherished dream of becoming mothers.

A challenging journey

When Huân was assigned to help establish the Assisted Reproduction Centre at Lào Cai Obstetrics and Paediatrics Hospital, he knew he was embarking on a challenging journey.

“In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is not merely a medical technique. It requires precision at every stage and close collaboration among multiple specialties, including obstetrics and gynaecology, reproductive endocrinology, embryology and genetics,” he said.

“From an egg and a sperm cell to tiny embryos, every step must be carried out with the utmost care.”

Through years of training at major assisted reproduction centres across Việt Nam, Huân gained experience in a range of advanced techniques. He came to realise that IVF involved not only standardised procedures but also a constantly evolving field of science.

When the centre officially opened, the team faced another challenge: winning patients’ trust.

People seeking infertility treatment often turn first to major central hospitals. In Lào Cai, IVF was still new, and the local team had yet to demonstrate its results.

Huân recalled that many couples came for consultations with high hopes but also considerable doubts. Some carefully took notes on each stage of treatment before remained hesitant and postponed their decisions.

Rather than becoming impatient, he encouraged his colleagues to remain committed and do their best.

After numerous consultations and a long wait, the first breakthrough came when a couple decided to trust the centre and undergo IVF in their home province.

Their decision brought both joy and pressure to the medical team.

“Never before had my colleagues and I felt the full weight of the word ‘responsibility’ as clearly as we did at that moment,” Huân said.

“We knew this was not just the first IVF procedure to be performed at the centre, but also the first application of the new technique in Lào Cai.”

The weight of expectations

For Lý Thị Thư, from Bắc Hà Township, the journey was driven by a long-held wish to become a mother.

When she first heard about the Assisted Reproduction Centre, she felt both excited and anxious. She was delighted that IVF was available in Lào Cai, giving couples living far from major medical centres another opportunity to seek treatment closer to home.

“When I heard that IVF was available in Lào Cai, I was very happy, but I also had many concerns. I kept wondering whether the doctors here could do it successfully and whether I would be lucky enough to succeed,” Thư said.

As the doctors explained each stage of treatment in detail, she gradually felt more reassured. Her initial worries gradually gave way to confidence.

Huân left a particularly strong impression on Thư. She remembered him as a dedicated doctor who paid close attention to every stage of her treatment.

“Sometimes I was worried about whether the treatment would succeed, but seeing how devoted Huân and his colleagues were gave me the motivation to keep going,” she said.

During the procedure, the laboratory team worked with great care and precision. Every medical decision was carefully considered, and results were checked repeatedly before the first embryo transfer was completed successfully.

Then came the anxious wait. The medical team accompanied Thư through each important stage, hoping for encouraging news.

Eventually, Huân received the test result confirming that she was pregnant.

The news brough relief after countless hours of work in the laboratory, the anxiety of monitoring every indicator and the enormous responsibility felt by a team that had invested so much in Lào Cai’s first IVF case.

Throughout Thư’s pregnancy, Huân and his colleagues continued to support her.

The defining moment came when the first baby born in Lào Cai through IVF let out a cry, marking a milestone for both the family and the province’s healthcare sector.

Huân and his colleagues looked at one another with relieved smiles as the pressure they had carried finally began to lift.

The birth helped strengthen public confidence in the centre, which subsequently attracted patients from Lào Cai and neighbouring localities.

To date, 28 babies have been born through IVF at the centre, while hundreds of other patients continue to receive follow-up care and treatment as they pursue their dream of having children. VNS