Over 1,300 lives saved through organ transplants at Vietnam military hospital

As of February 21, it has successfully carried out more than 1,300 transplant procedures, including many complex and high-risk cases, offering hope to thousands of patients.

Le Huu Song, director of the hospital, said the institution considers training, technical support, and technology transfer a core mission of a top-tier medical center.

The hospital has trained and transferred kidney, liver, and lung transplant techniques to 10 hospitals nationwide, including military and civilian medical systems, guiding them from operating room design to live surgical support.

Looking ahead, the hospital has identified organ transplantation as a strategic spearhead.

It plans to expand transplant capacity, improve mastered techniques, and prepare for procedures involving donation after circulatory death.

The hospital is also working to apply robotic surgery in organ retrieval and transplantation, standardize procedures, and deepen international cooperation and scientific research to approach leading transplant centers globally.

Among its major achievements, the hospital has emerged as one of Southeast Asia’s leading liver transplant centers.

It is recognized not only for the volume of transplants performed but also for mastering highly complex procedures, particularly routine living-donor liver transplantation, one of the most technically demanding surgeries in modern medicine.

In 2024, during Lunar New Year’s Eve, the hospital performed a multi-organ retrieval and transplant from a brain-dead donor, saving eight patients.

In 2025, it successfully carried out a third-generation partial artificial heart transplant, another technological breakthrough.

The hospital also demonstrated high operational capacity by completing 19 organ and tissue transplants within a single week in 2025, underscoring its strong coordination in anesthesia, resuscitation, and surgery.

Nguyen Trung Thanh, a Hanoi resident who received a liver transplant on January 9 last year, described the surgery as a rebirth.

“For many people, it was a successful major operation. For me, it was the day I was born again,” he said.