VietNamNet Bridge – The National Centre for co-ordinating Human Organ Transplants, which opened in Ha Noi on Saturday, is a long overdue service that facilitates both organ donors and their recipients.

Located at Viet Duc General Hospital, the centre has the responsibility for coordinating donated body tissue and organs and will liaise with tissues banks and hospitals nation-wide.—Photo danviet

Located at Viet Duc General Hospital, the centre has the responsibility for coordinating donated body tissue and organs and will liaise with tissues banks and hospitals nation-wide.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien highlighted the new centre as an important milestone in the nation's health care service.

"The country is facing a huge demand for organ transplants," said Tien.

Tien revealed that Viet Nam currently had around 6,000 patients with chronic kidney failure who urgently need transplants and more than 5,000 others that need cornea's and other organs.

However, Tien said that organ transplants in the country were not very commonplace due to the public not being aware of the importance of donating their organs.

"Many people have volunteered to donate their body after death but so far no-one has donated any tissue. However, there have been a few cases of tissue donations from people who had been left brain dead after accidents or serious traumas and the country has a number of potential sources," said Tien. The Director of Viet Duc Hospital, Nguyen Tien Quyet said that in total 14 people had voluntarily donated their organs over the past 4 years, while hundreds of people are waiting in hospital for organs transplants.

Statistics issued by the Ministry of Health state that the country has 13 medical teams that meet the regulations and conditions for carrying out body tissue and organ transplants.

The first kidney transplant was performed successfully by the Medical Military Institute in 1992. To date, the health sector has performed 900 kidney transplants, 41 liver transplants and eight heart transplants.

Source: VNS