Wordless pain and humane decisions
Behind each organ and tissue donation case is a quiet and tearful story. It is the irreparable pain of a family when losing their loved one. But amidst the extreme pain, they chose to give it away, so that the departure is not the end but becomes a continuation of other lives.
The organ donor is Bui Duc Quang - a male student who was praised by the school and Hanoi City Police in 2022 for picking up lost items and returning them to the person who lost them. He is the only son, the pride of his parents.
If I knew my child's organs could save many people, I believe my child would be willing. He always lives kindly, knows how to think for others. He will be happy to help someone, even when they are no longer there...", the mother choked up.
That decision is not just a medical action. It is a deep understanding that life can be spread and death is not the end if the human heart knows how to share.
Urgent coordination overnight at the beginning of spring
As soon as the family agreed to donate tissues and organs, a "race against time" immediately began. Professional procedures were activated. Dozens of doctors, nurses, and technicians were urgently mobilized, although many were still on holidays.
The National Organ Transplant Coordination Center quickly connected focal points nationwide. Participating units include: University Medical Center Hospital of Ho Chi Minh City, National Lung Hospital, National Children's Hospital, National Eye Hospital, Vinmec Hospital, Military Hospital 103 and Bach Mai Hospital - the origin of the act.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dao Xuan Co - Director of Bach Mai Hospital - requested smooth coordination, ensuring maximum safety; and proactively plans to transport tissues and organs in early spring conditions that are prone to congestion.
We are not just performing one tissue and organ removal case. We are implementing the humanitarian will of the family," Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dao Xuan Co emphasized.
The furthest team from Ho Chi Minh City almost forgot dinner, immediately went to the airport to take an emergency flight to Hanoi to receive the donated heart in time.
Revival of Life – 8 lives to be continued
The heart was transported to Ho Chi Minh City and transplanted to a 10-year-old child with dilated cardiomyopathy. Six hours after removal, the pink heart beats again regularly.
The left liver lobe was transplanted to a 23-month-old child at Vinmec International General Hospital, suffering from congenital biliary atrophy and end-stage cirrhosis. After transplantation, the liver fragment functioned well.
The right liver was transplanted to a 45-year-old patient at Military Hospital 103, with irreparable cirrhosis due to hepatitis C. The transplant was performed overnight, the transplanted liver had secreted bile, and the patient is being actively monitored.
Two patients with end-stage kidney failure were transplanted directly at Bach Mai Hospital. They were lying on both sides of the donor's room, only separated by a wall. Not knowing each other's faces, not knowing who the donor was, but both were revived from a similar part of life.
Lungs were transplanted to a 64-year-old patient with COPD at the National Lung Hospital. Two corneas were successfully transplanted at the National Eye Hospital, restoring light to the two patients.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vu Van Giap - Deputy Director of Bach Mai Hospital - expressed: "We bow our heads in gratitude to donors and families - people who have turned pain into noble humane actions. Every heartbeat revived today is proof of the value of compassion.
Not only is it a successful multi-organ transplant, this event also lays the foundation for the strategy of developing multi-organ transplant techniques at Bach Mai Hospital, aiming to master high technology, strengthen inter-hospital coordination, military-civilian medical, public-private, and the two regions of North and South at the same pace.
In the early days of the new year, when many people are still gathering with their families, dozens of doctors and nurses have put aside their privacy to perform a special gesture with a family.
