On December 2, information from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City said that this medical facility had just coordinated with leading hospitals in organ transplants to successfully perform a heart transplant from a brain-dead donor for a 9-year-old patient.
Previously, on the morning of November 29, after receiving information about a brain-dead patient whose family agreed to donate organs, Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital urgently coordinated with 108 Military Central Hospital and City Children's Hospital to activate the process of collecting - transporting - transplanting a heart across Vietnam for a 9-year-old boy with end-stage heart failure.
Immediately, the Heart Transplant Council of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City held an urgent meeting chaired by Prof. Dr. Truong Quang Binh, Chairman of the Heart Transplant Council, to comprehensively evaluate the patient and finalize the surgical plan.
In Hanoi , the 108 Military Central Hospital completed the removal of multiple organs from a brain-dead donor, in which the heart was directly performed by Dr. Cao Dang Khang - Head of the Cardiac Surgery Department of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. The heart was strictly preserved, starting the journey of more than 1,600 km to Ho Chi Minh City.
Information about the donor heart was delivered in the context that every minute directly affected the child's fragile chance of survival. Before the surgery, the team expressed deep gratitude to the donor and family - those who chose to give their lives in the most painful and loss-making moment.
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| Prof. Dr. Nguyen Hoang Dinh - Deputy Director of University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital and the team performing heart transplant for pediatric patients. |
After 48 hours of resuscitation, the boy is now awake, cooperative, hemodynamically stable, with reduced vasopressor demand, and significantly improved kidney and other organ function. Doctors said the inflammation index has decreased, indicating that the new heart is in good harmony with the body. This is the fifth heart transplant and the youngest patient to receive a heart transplant at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City till now.
The heart's journey of more than 1,600 km is not only a triumph of modern organ transplant techniques but also a deeply humane story - where the donor's heart, the doctors' efforts and the boy's determination come together to continue writing the miracle of life./.
Binh Nguyen