Vietnam successfully transplants lung from brain-dead donor for first time

On March 16, the 108 Military Central Hospital (Hanoi) announced the successful implementation of the first lung transplant from a brain-dead donor in Vietnam. The organ source was a 45-year-old brain-dead man whose family agreed to donate his organs.

Doctors at the 108 Military Central Hospital performed lung transplants, a kidney transplant and cornea transplants on four patients. The remaining heart and kidney were preserved and transported by plane from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City for transplants on two patients at Cho Ray Hospital.

The patient who received the donated lung is recovering 16 days after the transplant. Photo: Provided by the hospital.

The lung transplant was performed on February 26. The patient who received the lung transplant was 54-year-old patient Tran Ngoc Hanh from Nam Dinh. Hanh suffered from severe respiratory failure due to end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and often required emergency care, mechanical ventilation, and continuous oxygen therapy. The patient's condition was very serious and he could die at any time. A lung transplant was the only chance to save the patient's life.

The 108 Military Central Hospital mobilized more than 60 doctors and nurses to participate in the organ retrieval, performing lung, kidney, and cornea transplants simultaneously on February 26. Twenty doctors and nurses participated in the lung transplant with the support of leading experts in anesthesia, resuscitation, and lung transplantation from France and Belgium. One team prepared the organ donor, retrieved the lungs, cleaned, and washed the removed lungs; another team prepared the patient for the transplant.

The lung transplant lasted nearly 8 hours. After the transplant, the patient was transferred to the recovery room, monitored and treated in isolation. Currently, the patient is awake, responsive, breathing on his own, with stable hemodynamics and clear lungs. The patient can walk around the room on his own.

Doctors are performing the first lung transplant from a brain-dead donor. Photo: Hospital provided.

Sharing from the hospital room, patient Hanh said that her health has recovered 70-80%, she can now breathe on her own, and is undergoing rehabilitation. “I am much healthier than before. Thank you to the doctors and nurses for helping me live,” the patient said.

Mr. Nguyen Hung Manh, the patient's son, said that the family was very worried because they did not understand what a lung transplant was, how long his father would live if he had a transplant, and what would happen to his life if he did not have a transplant. "When the family was wondering between the options, it was my father who decided to agree to a lung transplant," the son said.

Lieutenant General Mai Hong Bang, Director of Hospital 108, said that organ transplants in Vietnam have a 25-year history, and doctors have transplanted kidneys, livers, hearts, pancreases, corneas, etc. However, lung transplants are still a huge challenge for our country's medicine.

According to organ transplant experts, lung transplantation is one of the most difficult techniques because of its complexity, urgency, and requirement for specialized techniques, coordination, and preparation of facilities and equipment... Lung transplantation from a living donor is difficult, but lung transplantation from a brain-dead donor is even more difficult and complicated. In lung transplantation from a living donor, the doctor only transplants one lobe or segment; whereas in this case, the patient received a transplant of both lungs.

To prepare for the lung transplant, Hospital 108 had made relatively thorough preparations for three years, sending doctors to France, Japan, Korea... to learn from experience.

Professor Ngai Liu, Research Director of Foch Paris Hospital (France) shared that the doctors and nurses of Hospital 108 all learn and absorb quickly, are determined and make efforts to achieve the best results.

In July 2016, Hue Central Hospital performed the first heart-lung transplant on a 40-year-old male patient. The transplant was unsuccessful and the patient died 5 days after the transplant. This patient received a heart-lung transplant donated by a brain-dead patient at Cho Ray Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City.

On February 21, 2017, Vietnam successfully performed the first lung transplant from a living donor. Doctors at Military Hospital 103, Military Medical Academy, in collaboration with Japanese experts, successfully performed a lung transplant from a living donor. The recipient of the lung transplant was a 7-year-old patient; the child's father (28 years old) and uncle (30 years old) each donated a part of their lungs to create two lungs for the child. The surgery lasted about 11 hours. According to Japanese experts, after the lung transplant, the child can live to 60-70 or even 80 years old.

The lungs consist of two chambers, the left lung has two lobes, the right lung has three lobes. A lung with only one lobe can expand and fill the lung cavity (either the left or right lobe can be removed), and lung function recovers very quickly. Currently, when treating patients, doctors often remove one lobe of the lung. For children, just a part of an adult's lung is enough to help the child develop normally.