Reviving Multiple Lives Through the Organ Donation Gesture of a 22-Year-Old Woman

In the early hours of July 18, 2026, University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City successfully performed multi-organ procurement and transplantation from a 22-year-old brain-dead donor. Four patients successfully received organ transplants, consisting of one liver transplant, one heart transplant, and two kidney transplants.

The organ donor suffered from subarachnoid hemorrhage due to a ruptured left internal carotid artery aneurysm. Following emergency care, resuscitation, and endotracheal intubation at People's Hospital 115, the patient was transferred to South Saigon Hospital. Despite an extremely slim chance of recovery, the family requested to transfer the patient to University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City for continued care. While there, the family expressed their wish to donate tissues and organs to save other patients if medical treatment proved unsuccessful.

Following intensive treatment without improvement, the patient was diagnosed with brain death in strict accordance with professional procedures and legal regulations. Fulfilling the family's sincere wishes, University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City reported the case to the National Coordinating Center for Human Organ Transplantation to coordinate and allocate the donated organs per regulations.

Upon receiving the allocation plan, the Board of Directors of University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City convened a meeting chaired by Assoc. Prof. A, MD, PhD Nguyễn Hoàng Bắc – Hospital Director. Evaluating the condition of both the donor and recipients alongside clinical requirements, the hospital simultaneously mobilized personnel, prepared resources, and executed multi-organ procurement and transplantation concurrently.Assoc. Prof. Nguyễn Hoàng Bắc, MD, PhD – Hospital Director chaired the meeting, directing personnel assignment and resource preparation for the multi-organ procurement and transplantation process.

Assoc. Prof. Nguyễn Hoàng Bắc, MD, PhD - Hospital Director chaired the meeting, directing personnel assignment and resource preparation for the multi-organ procurement and transplantation process.

The Board of Directors of University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City convened a meeting to implement the multi-organ procurement and transplantation plan immediately upon receiving the coordination information from the National Coordinating Center for Human Organ Transplantation.

On July 18, multiple operating rooms at University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City lit up simultaneously. The liver was transplanted to a 61-year-old female patient with hepatocellular carcinoma. Two kidneys were transplanted to two female patients, aged 53 and 48, both suffering from end-stage renal failure. The heart was transplanted to a 25-year-old male patient with dilated cardiomyopathy and end-stage heart failure, who had been hospitalized multiple times and awaited an emergency heart transplant in critical condition over the past two months. Simultaneously, University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City coordinated and supported the surgical teams from the National Lung Hospital and E Hospital in procuring and preserving the donated lungs, transporting the organs by air to Hanoi.

*Doctors and medical staff observed a moment of silence, bowed their heads in tribute, and expressed their profound gratitude for the noble gesture of the donor.*

*The kidney transplant team performed the surgery for the end-stage renal failure patient.*

*The heart transplant team performed the surgery for the end-stage heart failure patient.*

*The liver transplant team performed the surgery for the patient with hepatocellular carcinoma.*

This marks the fourth time University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City has activated its multi-organ procurement and transplantation protocol. This achievement stems from the consistent leadership of the Board of Directors, accumulated experience from previous cases, and professional workflows built and standardized over many years. On this foundation, the surgical teams coordinated smoothly, actively supported one another, and tightly controlled every stage - thereby preserving the quality of the donated organs, ensuring patient safety, and meeting technical demands when multiple transplants were performed simultaneously. The hospital expects the transplant recipients to recover smoothly and achieve favorable treatment outcomes.

*The team at University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City coordinated with the National Lung Hospital and E Hospital to procure lungs from the brain-dead donor.*

*Images of the lungs from the brain-dead donor.*

*The donated lungs were transported by air from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi to perform the transplant procedure at the National Lung Hospital.*

*The Traffic Police force provided escort and traffic clearance support, ensuring the rapid and safe transportation of the organs.*

University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City expresses its profound gratitude to the organ donor and their family. In their moment of deepest grief, this humane decision became a sacred testament to the spirit of sharing: when one life ends, love can still open up new lives. The hospital continues to develop its organ transplantation program in an intensive, synchronized, and sustainable direction; continuously enhancing professional capacity, strengthening multi-specialty coordination, training, and technology transfer, thereby expanding treatment opportunities for patients awaiting transplants every day.