Still love forever
In the pain of losing her husband when she was still very young, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai Yen and her family made a not-so-easy decision: donating organs of relatives to give a chance of survival to strange patients. For her, her husband cannot return, but a part of him is still living somewhere.
On August 27, in Hanoi, Bach Mai Hospital organized the program "Forever Loving", expressing gratitude to tissue and organ donors after brain death and launching registration for tissue and organ donation in the community. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai Yen emotionally shared about her deceased husband, but 4 people were given a chance to live.
In October 2024, Mr. L.T.S, Ms. Yen's husband, unfortunately suffered a stroke and was taken to the Stroke Center, Bach Mai Hospital for emergency treatment. Although doctors tried their best to save him, he could not return to his family. Mr. Son passed away at the age of 36, leaving behind his wife and 3 young children. In the midst of the family sinking into pain, doctors and staff of Bach Mai Hospital encouraged, shared, and advised on organ and tissue donation.
That is not an easy decision for any family, especially when the departure of a loved one is still too sudden.
“Initially, we found it very difficult to accept. But then the family thought: He cannot live again, but if what he left behind can help others live, then that is also a way for him to continue living,” Ms. Yen shared.
On October 26, 2024, Mr. Son donated a heart, a liver and two kidneys, bringing life opportunities to 4 patients.
Ms. Yen does not know who the people who are carrying her husband's body parts are. But she only hopes they live well, live for the whole life that her husband has not had time to live.
With 3 young children, she always wants her children to remember their father with pride. That father passed away, but his passing has helped 4 others have more opportunities to live and return to their families.
Children, please live kindly, try to study so that Dad can always smile," Ms. Yen said to her children.
Husband, my children and I are very proud of you!". Two years after her husband passed away, Ms. Yen still could not hide her emotion when mentioning him.
What is special is that after the family's upheaval, from August 11, 2026, she became an employee of Bach Mai Hospital itself - where doctors once tried to save her husband and also where the family made the decision to donate organs.
Before that, she worked as a seamstress and never thought that one day she would work at a large hospital. For her, the new job not only helps raise her children but is also like a meaningful continuation after what her family has gone through.
I really appreciate and am grateful for this opportunity. I told myself that I will try to do my job well, live responsibly, compassionately and spread beautiful stories about tissue and organ donation with everyone," Ms. Yen shared.
She hopes that more and more people will understand correctly about organ and tissue donation and be willing to register to give life opportunities to patients waiting for transplantation.
My husband has passed away, but he has not disappeared. A part of him is still living somewhere in this life. Husband, my children and I are very proud of you!", Ms. Yen choked up.
Gratitude to 6 people who donated tissues and organs after brain death
At the "Forever Loving" program, the Ministry of Health posthumously awarded the "For People's Health" Medal to 6 people who donated tissues and organs after brain death.
Speaking at the program, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dao Xuan Co - Director of Bach Mai Hospital - expressed his deep gratitude to the tissue and organ donors and their families.
According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dao Xuan Co, in the most lossful and painful moment, a family can suppress their pain to decide to donate tissues and organs, giving life opportunities to completely unfamiliar patients is an extremely noble gesture.
It is not only sharing but also expressing kindness, sacrifice and love between people.
Over the past time, Bach Mai Hospital has actively advised and mobilized donation of tissues and organs from brain-dead people. The hospital has successfully mobilized 11 cases to agree to donate tissues and organs during brain death and successfully performed 7 transplants from donated organ sources.
The coordinated organ source has contributed to bringing life opportunities to patients at Bach Mai Hospital as well as many organ transplant facilities in the network such as Central Military Hospital 108, Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, Hue Central Hospital and Cho Ray Hospital.
According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dong Van He - Director of the National Coordination Center for Human Organ Transplantation - although organ transplantation activities are increasingly developing, the source of donated organs is still limited compared to demand. Therefore, it is necessary to continue to raise awareness and encourage registration for tissue and organ donation. He highly appreciated Bach Mai Hospital's determination that multi-organ transplantation is one of the 6 pillars of development, and hoped that the hospital will contribute to promoting the national organ donation, collection, coordination and transplantation network.
