Successful year for Vietnam’s organ transplant activities
Vietnam has marked a new imprint in the world medical map with the successful performance of the world’s first limb transplant from a live donor by doctors of the Central Military Hospital 108.
Patient Pham Van Vuong, who received a limb transplant surgery, is undergoing physical therapy to improve his range of movement (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA)🌄 – Vietnam has marked a new imprint in the world medical map with the successful performance of the world’s first limb transplant from a live donor by doctors of the Central Military Hospital 108.
Throughout 2020, Vietnamese doctors conducted a series of special transplants, including two bowel transplants from live donors, considered one of the most difficult organ transplantation techniques.
A record number of 23 organs – three hearts, four livers, and 16 kidneys - were transplanted within 13 days at the Vietnam-Germany Friendship Hospital, while five liver transplants were operated in one week by doctors of the Central Military Hospital 108.
The patient receiving the limb was Pham Van Vuong, 31, from Thanh Tri district in Hanoi. The 8-hour surgery was conducted on January 21 this year by professor Nguyen The Hoang, deputy director of the hospital, and his colleagues.
According to Dr Mai Hong Bang, Director of the Military Central Hospital 108, since 1998, about 89 limb transplants – a highly sophisticated microvascular surgery technique – have been performed worldwide. All were from brain dead donors, however.
A doctor visits a patient who underwent a kidney transplant surgery (Photo: VNA)
The first kidney transplant in Vietnam was conducted on June 4, 1992 at the Military Hospital 103 in Hanoi. The recipient was Vu Manh Doan, 40, and the donor was his 28-year-old younger brother. It was a notable milestone in the history of the country’s health sector.
So far, the Vietnam-Germany Friendship Hospital has performed 1,000 kidney transplants.
🙈 Also in 2020, the Ho Chi Minh City Children’s Hospital successfully separated 16-month-old conjoined twins – Truc Nhi and Dieu Nhi, with the sisters now able to walk on their own. The surgery was performed by 93 doctors and nurses.
Separated 16-month-old conjoined twins – Truc Nhi and Dieu Nhi after 84 days of a separation surgery. They are discharged from the hospital on October 7. (Source: Ho Chi Minh City Children's Hospital)
The twins were born on July 6, 2019, in the city’s Hung Vuong Hospital, joined in the pelvis and abdomen, and had only one anal hole between them. They had two bladders located on either side of their common abdomen, an open pubic joint and pelvises arranged in a circle.
Their health conditions will be supervised by the hospital until they reach 18.
🍎 So far, Vietnam has had 19 organ transplant centres. The success of the country in the field has opened up new opportunities for patients suffering fatal diseases./.
The Hue Central Hospital in the central province of Thua Thien – Hue conducted 21 organ transplants in August, the highest number ever in a month, according to Director Prof. Ph.D Pham Nhu Hiep.
On February 27, 1955, late President Ho Chi Minh sent a letter to a conference of health care workers across the country. The 368-word letter asked for three things: to stay honest and united, love patients, and devoted to developing the country’s healthcare sector. Since then February 27 has been known as Vietnamese Doctors’ Day.
Pham Van Vuong, 31, woke up at 9 am in the hospital’s quiet recovery room which was carefully quarantined on January 22 (the 28th day of the last lunar month). He had slept for nine hours after his surgical operation.
For the first time in history, Vietnamese doctors have successfully carried out two bowel transplants from live donors, considered one of the most difficult organ transplant techniques.
Vietnam now boasts a nationwide healthcare network with 1,665 hospitals, 384 of which are non-public, supported by local commune- and ward-level stations. At the end of 2024, hospital bed capacity reached 34 per 10,000 people, slightly above the global average.
The 56-year-old patient from Quang Tri province was discharged in stable condition as he no longer experienced shortness of breath and was able to walk, move around, and eat normally.
Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Vu Trung, Director of the Pasteur Institute, said that under the MoU, the two sides committed to promoting diverse and practical collaborative activities, including joint conferences and workshops, exchanges of scholars, researchers and students, sharing academic materials, and the development of specific programmes and projects in scientific research, training, and epidemic prevention.
TytoCare, a leading Israeli telemedicine company based in Netanya, is willing to work with Vietnamese regulators, insurers, and healthcare providers to develop a sustainable digital health ecosystem.
The partnership is under the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding on the development and implementation of the National Action Plan on Breast Cancer and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Control, signed in Hanoi on July 22.
An estimated 7 million Vietnamese are currently living with diabetes, but about 50% remain undiagnosed, a dangerous gap that is fuelling serious, preventable complications and increasing the burden on the healthcare system.
In 2024, Vietnam achieved 99% coverage for the first dose of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine, up from 80% in 2023. Immunisation coverage in the country has not only rebounded to the high levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic but has now surpassed the rates recorded in 2019.
Health authorities in HCM City have issued an urgent alert after six people died from dengue fever, amid a spike in infections driven by the onset of the rainy season.
During the peak months of July and August 2025, the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) needs at least 90,000 units of blood to supply 180 hospitals in the northern region. However, despite continuous efforts, the reserve blood is still short of 30,000 units.
The Hanoi ceremony highlighted efforts to ensure all citizens, especially women and youth, can access accurate information and healthcare services to make informed reproductive choices.
After such a long time, the law has revealed many limitations, prompting the Ministry of Health (MoH) to gather opinions to amend the law to give more chances to thousands of patients every year.
Currently, cardiovascular specialists from the 108 Military Central Hospital are working alongside a team of Prof.Dr. Jan D. Schmitto, Deputy Director of MHH’s Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery on clinical trials for MCS devices, implanted in heart failure patients either as a bridge to transplantation or as permanent treatment.
The centre not only serves residents living on the island, but also receives tens of thousands of visitors every year, according to Assoc Prof Dr Tang Chi Thuong, Director of the HCM CIty Department of Health.
Not only does Vietnam attract international tourists with its landscapes, culture, and cuisine, but it is also gradually becoming a reliable destination for medical treatment, offering high-quality services at reasonable costs.
Over the past six months, 150 communal health stations in provinces including Ha Giang, Bac Kan, Lang Son, Lao Cai, Lai Chau, Yen Bai, Tay Ninh, Hau Giang, Ben Tre and Ca Mau have been equipped with information technology systems. In addition, 117 key provincial healthcare workers have received training, with thousands more expected to follow.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Ministry of Health swiftly launched a telemedicine programme, connecting more than 1,000 medical establishments nationwide. The model, which remains in operation, has benefited tens of thousands of patients, including foreign nationals.
After more than three weeks of intensive treatment, the patient's pneumonia improved, breathing stabilised, sedation was reduced, and the breathing tube was removed. He is now conscious, able to eat orally, and in recovery.