Dr. Pham Thanh Viet, deputy director in charge of operations at Cho Ray Hospital, said the medical team worked around the clock to process two batches of donated organs. The first donor was a 49-year-old man from Ho Chi Minh City who suffered severe brain trauma. Four transplants were performed at Cho Ray Hospital, including the landmark lung transplant, while two corneas were sent to Hue Central Hospital.

The patient receiving the lung transplant is a 39-year-old man from Ho Chi Minh City with advanced pulmonary fibrosis, dependent on continuous oxygen and unable to eat. He is under intensive monitoring and care.

Notably, this is the first time Cho Ray Hospital has performed a lung transplant with support from two specialists from the Republic of Korea (RoK) and the 108 Central Military Hospital. Prior to the procedure, the hospital had sent staff to RoK and the 108 Hospital to learn the transplant technique and fully prepared the necessary equipment.

Dr. Tran Thanh Linh, head of the hospital’s intensive care unit, explained that the lung transplant itself is technically manageable, but post-operative care is critical. The team used ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, a heart-lung bypass technique) from the start to stabilize the patient’s heart and lungs during surgery. The procedure involved close coordination between surgeons and the intensive care team, as well as assessment by specialties.

Following the first set of transplants, the hospital received organs from a second brain-dead donor in Ba Ria General Hospital.

The organs were quickly distributed across the country with support from Vietnam Airlines and local authorities. The heart and two kidneys were transplanted to three patients at Cho Ray Hospital, the lungs went to the National Lung Institute, and the liver was divided for two patients at Ho Chi Minh City University Medical Center and Hue Central Hospital.

Vietnam leads Southeast Asia in organ transplants

Vietnam has emerged as Southeast Asia's leader in organ transplantation, performing over 1,000 procedures annually, but it faces significant challenges in brain-dead donor donations, according to a health official.

Viet Duc Friendship Hospital ranks top in Vietnam for organ transplants

Health experts reviewed the results of Viet Duc Friendship Hospital’s organ and tissue transplantation activities at a workshop in Hanoi on December 6.