Up to 3,542 people nationwide have registered to donate their organs and tissue after they die as by December 31, 2015, according to the National Centre for Coordinating Human Organ Transplants.

The Centre’s Director, Professor Trinh Hong Son, revealed the figure at a symposium on how to promote the coordination in organ transplants held in Hanoi on January 12, reported the Sai Gon Giai Phong (Saigon Liberty) newspaper.

Of the figure, 2,348 people have registered directly at the centre and the remainders were recorded at Cho Ray hospital in Ho Chi Minh City .

About 76 percent of the registered people are aged between 18 and 27 and males account for nearly 58 percent of the total.

Professor Son reported that 16 hospitals nationwide have been qualified to perform complicated organ and tissue transplantation.

Vietnamese doctors have successfully performed 1,116 kidney transplants, 48 liver transplants, and 13 heart cases so far, he added.

However, the demand for organ transplant is still huge while the organ source is scarce.

Statistics in the last five years showed that 4,000-5,000 people needed kidney transplants while the number of people waiting for liver and cornea transplants were 6,000 and 2,000, respectively.

Vietnam is seeking volunteers, techniques and medical teams to set up a plan on head transplant, Son revealed at the conference.

VNA