The Silent Support Behind the Multi-Organ Transplant Journey

Behind every successful multi-organ transplant journey lies the joint effort of many people. There are those who give the gift of life through the noble act of organ donation, medical teams racing against time, and patients who quietly agree to wait a little longer so that the Hospital can prioritize its resources for those in more urgent need of transplantation.

Earlier, in the early morning of July 18, 2026, University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City (UMC) performed multi-organ procurement and transplantation from a 22-year-old brain-dead donor. Teams were deployed simultaneously to procure, preserve, and transplant the organs, while also coordinating the transport of a donated lung to Hanoi according to the national coordination plan. As a result, four patients at UMC all received successful transplants, including one heart transplant, one liver transplant, and two kidney transplants. Few people know that, in order for the Hospital to concentrate the necessary resources on organ procurement and transplantation during that critical time, 10 patients undergoing treatment at the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery and the Department of Urology agreed to postpone their own surgeries. Although they, too, were anxiously awaiting their own operations, they were willing to wait a little longer to give priority for timely intervention to patients in critical condition.

To express gratitude for this act of sharing, on the morning of July 22, 2026, Tran Van Hung, MSc – Head of the Social Work Department, together with representatives from related units, personally visited each patient's room to deliver a letter of thanks from the Director along with gifts to the 10 patients. After completing the organ procurement and transplantation process, the Hospital proactively rearranged the surgical schedule appropriately for each case.

Tran Van Hung, MSc, shared: "The success of a transplant journey is the result of the combined efforts of many people. Alongside the noble act of the donor and their family and the dedication of the medical team, there is also the compassion of patients who agreed to adjust their surgical schedules so that the Hospital could prioritize resources for organ procurement and transplantation. That act of sharing, though quiet, is deeply worthy of respect, as it helped ensure that the organ procurement and transplantation process could proceed in a timely manner, opening up a chance at life for patients who were waiting."

As one of the patients who agreed to postpone his surgery, Mr. D.D.T. (74 years old), undergoing treatment at the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, said: "At first, my family and I were somewhat worried, as we had already prepared ourselves mentally for the surgery. However, after the doctor explained the situation, I agreed to wait longer, thinking that those waiting for a transplant needed immediate intervention. When I learned that the organ procurement and transplantation had gone smoothly, I felt that my wait truly had meaning."

In this journey of giving and restoring life, every act of consent carries its own significance. Without stepping directly into the operating room or joining the transplant teams, 10 patients chose to postpone their own treatment plans so that others could have a greater chance at survival. This simple act of sharing added a deeply human piece to the multi-organ transplant journey at UMC, where life is carried forward not only through medical progress, but also through the understanding shared between one person and another.