VietNamNet Bridge - Although Vietnam performed organ transplant operations half a century later than much of the rest of the world and 20 years later than regional countries, it has now caught up with countries that have modern medicine.

Vietnam has successfully employed the basic techniques worldwide for transplanting organs, especially kidney, liver and heart transplantation. 

Scientists all agreed that organ transplantation is one of the most outstanding achievements of Vietnamese medicine.

The first organ transplantation case was conducted more than 20 years ago, and since then the transplantation technique has been making considerable progress. 

The Army Hospital No 103, Vietnam-Germany Friendship Hospital, and the Hue City Central Hospital were pioneers in the field. 

They successfully transplanted many organs taken from the donor, a brain-dead person.

In June 1992, surgeons at the Army Hospital No 103 successfully conducted the first kidney transplant operation. 

Later, it successfully implemented the first liver (January 2004) and heart transplant (June 2010).

Nowadays, kidney transplant operations can be implemented at 12 hospitals throughout the country. Meanwhile, four hospitals provide liver transplant surgeries.

The success of organ transplants in Vietnam has brought high hopes to patients who suffer terminal organ failure, while it has helped push up development of many other medical branches.

Organ transparent surgery has become routine at leading surgical centers in Vietnam, where patients only have to pay costs equal to one-third of the average cost in the rest of the world. 

From now on, Vietnamese can cherish the hope of prolonging their lives, with no need to travel to regional countries to receive treatment.

One year ago, Army Hospital No 103 announced it had successfully conducted the first 2-in-1 pancreas and kidney transplant surgery in Vietnam.

The patient was Tran Thai H, 43, from Son La province. He had been suffering serious diabetes and kidney failure at the second level by the time the 13-hour transplant surgery was implemented.

Medical experts say a pancreas transplant is a complicated operation because the pancreas has many blood vessels. 

The success of the pancreas transplant case is seen as an outstanding achievement of Vietnamese surgeons.

Last September, Children’s Hospital No 2 in HCM City celebrated the 10th anniversary of the first successful organ transplant for a child patient.

VnMedia