Hanoi (VNA) - Doctors at the 108 Military Central Hospital announced onMarch 16 that they successfully performed the first lung transplant from abrain dead donor in Vietnam, marking a huge step forward in the tissue andorgan transplant field of military doctors, opening more opportunities forpatients in Vietnam with dangerous diseases.

A team of 60 medical experts and doctors, led by Prof. Mai Hong Bang, directorof 108 Military Central Hospital took part in performing the transplant onFebruary 26, 2018.

Tran Ngoc Hanh, 52, from Nam Định province became the first Vietnamese toreceive two lung transplants from a brain dead donor.

Hanh was diagnosed with severe respiratory failure due to chronic obstructivepulmonary disease. His condition was serious, and a lung transplant was theonly way to save his life. But it was a challenge to the doctors.

The donor is a brain dead 45-year-old man, who has donated many organs,including kidneys, heart and corneas, for transplant for up to six patients.

Nearly 20 days after the eight-hour transplant, Hanh’s health is in goodcondition. He can eat porridge and has good contact, hemodynamic stability andgood respiratory function. An X-ray result shows that both the lungs haveintegrated with the recipient’s body, and Hanh is able to walk and talk.

From the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, Hanh said his health had recovered70-80 per cent. “I can now breathe easily. I am much better than before, thanksto the doctors who helped me live,” he said.

“Lung transplant still has been a challenge for Vietnam’s medical sector,” saidProf. Bang.

He said lung transplant is considered the most difficult technique in the fieldof organ transplantation, even for countries with advanced medical facilitiesin the world.

“On behalf of the doctor’s team, I would like to say that we are very happy tohave performed the first lung transplant from a brain dead donor. From now on,we can handle difficult procedures involving tissue and organ transplant,” saidProf. Bang.

He further said this was not just a normal case of lung transplant from a braindead donor but a special case of multi-organ transplant where many organs, suchas lungs, kidneys and cornea, from a donor were transplanted to six patients indifferent cities at the same time. Of this, two lungs and a cornea weretransplanted in two patients at the 108 Military Central Hospital.

The hospital collaborated with the National Organ and Tissue TransplantationCollaboration Centre, Viet Duc hospital in Hanoi and Cho Ray hospital in HCMCity to preserve and send the kidneys and heart to HCM City by air to betransplanted in two other patients at Cho Ray Hospital.

Bang said that the organs were successfully transplanted in six patients inthree hospitals. This was possible due to the preparation of human resource andmedical facilities, logistics, good collaboration between relevant bodies andsupport of leading foreign experts.

To date, the hospital has successfully performed 18 kidney, one liver, 27 marrowand 14 corneal transplants. Bang said the success of the lung transplant was aresult of the hospital’s National Scientific Research project. In coming years,the hospital plans to focus on research and master the transplants of the uterus,intestines and heart.-VNA