Hành trình xuyên Việt đưa trái tim vượt hơn 1.700 km đến với bệnh nhi 15 tuổi

On the evening of July 14, 2026, University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City (UMC) successfully performed a heart transplant for a 15-year-old pediatric patient with end-stage heart failure. The donor heart, from a 49-year-old brain-dead patient at Xanh Pon General Hospital, was urgently transported by air from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. After a journey of more than 1,700 km, the UMC team took only 60 minutes to complete the anastomoses, re-establish circulation, and bring the heart beating again inside the recipient's chest.

The heart recipient was a 15-year-old male patient with dilated cardiomyopathy and heart failure with severely reduced ejection fraction. Since March 2026, the patient had been hospitalized six times due to episodes of decompensated heart failure. Given the critical condition, Children's Hospital 1 coordinated to transfer the patient to UMC for evaluation and registration on the urgent heart transplant waiting list.

The heart donor was a 49-year-old male patient in Hanoi, declared brain dead following a traffic accident. Amid their loss, the family agreed to donate tissues and organs to give a chance at life to those waiting for a transplant.

Immediately upon receiving information from the National Organ Transplant Coordination Center, under the direction of the Hospital's Board of Directors, the inter-hospital heart procurement and transplant process was urgently activated. At Xanh Pon General Hospital, teams from UMC, Viet Duc University Hospital, the National Children's Hospital, and Xanh Pon General Hospital worked closely together during the multi-organ procurement process. Through the donor's act of generosity, the heart, liver, kidneys, and corneas were procured and coordinated for transplantation into 4 patients, while also giving suitable recipients the opportunity to restore their eyesight.

The UMC team coordinated with functional forces to urgently transport the donor heart from Tan Son Nhat Airport to the Hospital.

Traffic Police forces provided escort support, helping to maximize the reduction in transport time for the donor heart to reach the Hospital.

Throughout the transport journey, the donor heart was strictly preserved according to professional protocols. To shorten the cold ischemia time and minimize the risk of affecting the quality of the transplanted organ and post-transplant cardiac function, the entire process was carried out urgently with the coordination of the Traffic Police of the Hanoi City Police, the Ho Chi Minh City Police, and Vietnam Airlines. As a result, the donor heart was brought to UMC within 4 hours.

Immediately upon arrival at UMC's operating room, the donor heart was received by team members, who carefully assessed and performed initial preparation.

Assessing the surgery, Prof. Nguyen Hoang Dinh, MD, PhD – Vice Director of the Hospital, Head of the heart transplant team and lead surgeon, said that just 60 minutes after completing the anastomoses and re-establishing circulation, the heart was beating strongly again inside the recipient's chest, with stable post-operative hemodynamics. This outcome demonstrates the effectiveness of tight coordination, proper preservation of the donor heart, and urgent transport, which helped the heart maintain good function after its long journey.

Prof. Nguyen Hoang Dinh, MD, PhD – Vice Director of the Hospital, Head of the Heart Transplant Team and Lead Surgeon, together with team members, remained highly focused and worked in smooth coordination at every step, ensuring patient safety throughout the surgery.

At UMC, the consistent direction of the Board of Directors, together with the process of building and standardizing clinical protocols and organizing implementation, are key factors contributing to improving the effectiveness of heart transplant work. The Hospital's organ transplant process operates synchronously, with close coordination between clinical and paraclinical specialties and supporting units. To date, the Hospital has successfully performed 14 heart transplants, with no post-transplant deaths recorded.

Working alongside the surgeons, the team operating the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) system strictly monitored every vital sign of the patient throughout the heart transplant procedure.

Modern equipment supported the entire surgical procedure, helping to maintain vital functions and continuously monitor indicators to ensure patient safety.

University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City respectfully expresses its profound gratitude to the organ donor and their family for their noble and compassionate act. This humane decision, made in a moment of profound grief, opened up a new future for many lives, spreading the noble value of tissue and organ donation and carrying life forward through love. The Hospital will continue to develop its organ transplant program in general, and heart transplant program in particular, continuously enhancing professional capacity, transferring techniques, and leveraging multidisciplinary strength to bring more opportunities for life to patients in the future.

A 1,700-Kilometer Journey Across Vietnam to Bring a New Heart to a 15-Year-Old Patient