From November 7 to 9, the medical team at a top-tier hospital in Ho Chi Minh City worked around the clock to perform two organ donation and transplantation campaigns, including the first successful lung transplant in the southern region.

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Doctors at  Cho Ray Hospital perform a transplant procedure. Photo:  Cho Ray Hospital

On the afternoon of November 10,  Cho Ray Hospital (HCMC) announced that its doctors had worked continuously over the weekend to complete two organ donation-transplantation events, giving seven patients new chances at life and transferring five organs to hospitals across the country.

First lung transplant in southern Vietnam

On November 7, a 49-year-old male patient from Ho Chi Minh City was admitted with a severe traumatic brain injury caused by a domestic accident. Despite intensive efforts, he could not be saved. His family made the noble decision to donate his organs.

In response,  Cho Ray Hospital swiftly carried out legal procedures, evaluated the viability of the organs, and informed the National Coordination Center for Organ Transplantation to identify matching recipients.

The medical team worked through the night. By early morning on November 8, four transplant surgeries were completed at the hospital: a 53-year-old man from Can Tho received a heart transplant; two kidney transplants were performed on a 48-year-old woman from Dong Nai and a 40-year-old man from Dong Thap.

Most notably, a 39-year-old man from Ho Chi Minh City became the first person to successfully undergo a lung transplant in southern Vietnam. Additionally, two corneas were transported to Hue Central Hospital and successfully transplanted.

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The medical team holds a moment of silence for the organ donor. Photo:  Cho Ray Hospital

Dr. Pham Thanh Viet, Deputy Director in charge of operations at  Cho Ray Hospital, stated, “This first lung transplant marks a major milestone in advancing medical expertise and is a turning point in the organ donation and transplantation field in southern Vietnam. It lays the foundation for future 'miracles of rebirth' and gives hope to patients fighting serious illnesses.”

64-minute heart transfer to Ho Chi Minh City

On the night of November 9,  Cho Ray Hospital received another organ donation alert from Ba Ria General Hospital. The donor was a 32-year-old man from Long Hai, Ho Chi Minh City, who suffered a fatal brain injury in a traffic accident. Once his condition was deemed unsalvageable, his family agreed to donate his heart, lungs, liver, and two kidneys.

The hospital promptly reported the case to the National Coordination Center, which managed the organ matching and transfer process. The heart and kidneys were retained for  Cho Ray Hospital; the liver was split between Hue Central Hospital and the University Medical Center HCMC; the lungs were assigned to the National Lung Hospital in Hanoi.

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Cho Ray Hospital coordinated the distribution of donated organs to hospitals across northern, central, and southern Vietnam. Photo:  Cho Ray Hospital

Multiple agencies - including the national coordination center, Ba Ria and  Cho Ray hospitals, airport staff, and Ho Chi Minh City traffic police - worked in unison to arrange for the rapid transport of the donated organs to facilities across northern, central, and southern Vietnam.

Thanks to the traffic police escort, the donor’s heart was delivered from Ba Ria to  Cho Ray Hospital in just 64 minutes - timely enough for a critical heart transplant.

Since the surgical team from the National Lung Hospital could not arrive in time to retrieve the lungs,  Cho Ray Hospital stepped in to receive, preserve, and transport them to Hanoi for transplantation.

Two kidneys were transplanted into patients at  Cho Ray Hospital. Overall, 12 organs were successfully transplanted to recipients across the country.

The leadership at  Cho Ray emphasized that the back-to-back successful transplants highlight not only the medical team’s expertise and dedication, but also the close coordination among medical institutions. More importantly, they underscore the profound humanity of organ donation.

Phuoc Sang