65 minutes for the heart to beat again: A milestone in the 13th heart transplant at University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City

On the evening of July 10, 2026, University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City (UMC HCMC) successfully performed a heart transplant for a 29-year-old patient with end-stage heart failure. The donor heart was harvested at Viet Duc Friendship Hospital and urgently transported from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. From the moment the donor heart arrived in the operating room, the UMC HCMC surgical team took only 65 minutes to complete the anastomoses, re-establish circulation, and restore a beating heart within the recipient's chest. This marks the shortest procedural duration among all heart transplants carried out at the hospital.

The heart recipient suffered from non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy with progressive heart failure. Starting in late 2025, the patient experienced repeated hospitalizations due to dyspnea, lower extremity edema, and decompensated heart failure, with the left ventricular ejection fraction dropping to just 11% at times. Despite medical therapy and the implantation of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), the heart failure continued to progress, leading to an indication for a heart transplant and registration on the national emergency waitlist managed by the Vietnam National Coordinating Center for Human Organ Transplantation.

This chance at life stemmed from the noble organ donation of a 41-year-old male patient who suffered a severe work-related accident and was admitted to Viet Duc Friendship Hospital with severe brain injury. Despite intensive treatment efforts, the patient was diagnosed with brain death in accordance with professional regulations and protocols. In their moment of profound grief, the family made the humane decision to donate his tissues and organs to give other patients waiting for transplants a chance at life.

After cross-referencing the waitlist and evaluating professional criteria, the National Coordinating Center confirmed that the patient at UMC HCMC required an emergency heart transplant and met all conditions to receive the donor organ. Under the direction of the Hospital's Board of Directors, the inter-hospital organ transplantation protocol was swiftly activated.

Simultaneously with the organ transport, the team at UMC HCMC rapidly prepared the recipient, the operating room, the extracorporeal circulation system, and all required equipment and personnel, ensuring readiness to proceed immediately upon the donor heart's arrival at the hospital. Because of the long transportation distance from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, the prolonged cold ischemia time left a particularly narrow window for the surgical anastomosis process in the operating room.

Prof. Dr. Nguyễn Hoàng Định, Deputy Director of the Hospital, Head of the Heart Transplant Team, and Lead Surgeon, shared: "Every single maneuver had to be precisely calculated to save maximum time while ensuring technical accuracy and safety. Synchronized preparation, the experience accumulated from previous transplants, and our seamless operational capacity allowed the team to rapidly complete this transplantation. Sixty minutes after the heart resumed activity, ultrasound results demonstrated vigorous contractions and favorable initial cardiac function."

Following surgery, the patient continues to receive intensive monitoring, care, and treatment. Physicians anticipate a favorable postoperative course, enabling the patient to recover early and embark on a new journey of life.

The success of this heart transplant further underscores the effective collaboration among the Vietnam National Coordinating Center for Human Organ Transplantation, Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, and UMC HCMC in organ coordination, retrieval, and transplantation. It also reflects the ongoing development of the heart transplant program at UMC HCMC, supported by the synchronized involvement of Cardiology, Cardiovascular Surgery, Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Post-Transplant Intensive Care, Laboratory, Diagnostic Imaging, and associated supporting units.

University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City extends its profound gratitude to the organ donor and their family for their noble gesture in extending lives. This achievement serves as a driving force for the hospital to continue advancing its organ transplantation program in general and heart transplantation in particular, relentlessly elevating clinical capacity and leveraging multi-specialty strength to bring more survival opportunities to patients in the future.