Rapid heart transplant saves the life of a 15-year-old boy in Ho Chi Minh City.

Within just three hours of receiving a suitable donated heart, nearly 100 doctors, nurses, and technicians from the University Medical Center of Ho Chi Minh City raced against time to perform a heart transplant, saving the life of a 15-year-old child with end-stage heart failure.

Doctors at the University Medical Center of Ho Chi Minh City are performing a heart transplant on a patient - Photo: Provided by the hospital.

On the evening of May 17th, the University Medical Center of Ho Chi Minh City announced that its doctors had successfully performed a heart transplant on a 15-year-old patient from Ho Chi Minh City in the early morning of May 16th. The patient's health is currently progressing favorably.

This was the 11th heart transplant at the hospital, and it was a special case in that the entire process of consultation, coordination, preparation, and surgery had to be carried out in a very short time.

Prior to surgery, the child was in end-stage heart failure, a critical condition. Ultrasound results showed severely impaired myocardial contractility, with an ejection fraction of only about 5%, posing a very high risk of death without timely heart transplantation.

Previously, on May 15th, the hospital received information about a suitable donated heart from Viet Duc Hospital. At that time, the hospital was monitoring two patients with end-stage heart failure who were both indicated for heart transplantation. After consultation, based on the clinical condition, urgency, and compatibility of the donated organ, the expert panel decided to proceed with a heart transplant for the 15-year-old patient.

Under the direction of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Hoang Bac, Director of the University Medical Center Hospital, the emergency organ transplant procedure was activated.

The heart transplant team, led by Professor, Doctor Nguyen Hoang Dinh, Deputy Director of the hospital, along with many supporting specialties and departments, coordinated the preparation stages.

At approximately 10:30 PM on May 15th, the donated heart was brought into the operating room. By 11:45 PM the same day, the new heart began beating in the child's chest. After the surgery, the transplanted heart is functioning stably, and the child continues to receive intensive monitoring and care according to post-transplant protocols.

According to Professor, Doctor Nguyen Hoang Dinh, the biggest challenge of this transplant was the tight preparation time. From identifying a suitable heart donor to completing the procedures and bringing the organ into the operating room, the team only had about 3 hours to mobilize nearly 100 personnel from various specialties.

"The experience accumulated from the previous 10 heart transplants, along with the increasingly synchronized coordination between the teams, is an important foundation that helped the 11th transplant be carried out in a timely and safe manner," Professor Dinh shared.

According to the hospital, the success of the transplant further affirms its capacity to organize, coordinate, and implement advanced organ transplantation techniques, especially in emergency situations.

Many patients with end-stage heart failure are still waiting for a suitable organ donor to have a chance at treatment.

The University Medical Center expresses its gratitude to the donor and their family, and hopes that the act of organ donation will continue to spread in the community, contributing to saving the lives of more patients.

THUY DUONG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ghep-tim-than-toc-cuu-song-cau-be-15-tuoi-o-tp-hcm-20260517184540157.htm