On the evening of December 18, 2024, the National Children's Hospital received information from the National Organ Transplant Coordination Center about the organ donation of a brain-dead patient at Binh Duong General Hospital. Under the direction of the Board of Directors, doctors from the Department of Nephrology and Dialysis quickly contacted the recipient, performed tests and procedures according to the correct process. The kidney transplant team also coordinated closely with relevant parties to ensure the most effective kidney retrieval process.
Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Minh Dien - Director of the National Children's Hospital said that on the morning of December 19, 2024, the team of the Department of Urology went to Binh Duong to participate in organ retrieval and receive the donated kidney. In Hanoi, the teams of anesthesia, surgery and many other specialties of the hospital were ready with full equipment and medicine to perform the transplant.
The donor was a 47-year-old patient who was diagnosed with brain death after treatment at Binh Duong General Hospital. With the humanitarian spirit of “giving is forever”, the donor’s family agreed to donate tissues and organs, contributing to saving the lives of many other patients.
The kidney transplant patient is a 12-year-old girl with end-stage chronic renal failure and has been treated with peritoneal dialysis since 2017.
“We processed the fat tissue, vascular organization and adjusted the vessels of the donated kidney, then connected the vein and renal artery from the donor to the vein and aorta of the recipient. The biggest challenge was the time to transport the kidney from afar, forcing the surgical team to work urgently to ensure the kidney was perfused as soon as possible,” shared Dr. Le Anh Dung, Head of the Department of Urology, National Children's Hospital.
After 2 hours of stressful surgery, the kidney transplant was successful, bringing joy to the entire team.
The National Children's Hospital has performed kidney transplants from living donors for many years. However, this is the first time the hospital has performed a kidney transplant from a brain-dead donor, following a strict procedure similar to regular transplants.
After 3 days of intensive resuscitation, the child's transplanted kidney function improved beyond expectations, the patient no longer had kidney failure and was transferred to the Department of Nephrology and Dialysis for continued monitoring and treatment. Currently, the child's health is completely stable and he has been discharged from the hospital.
