As one of the leading experts in the field of organ transplantation, Assoc. concerns.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Huu Uoc
Waiting in vain
Until now, Assoc. Prof-Dr. Nguyen Huu Uoc still vividly remembers the image of a couple kneeling in front of his room begging: "Please find a heart for me to transplant".
“People kept kneeling in my room asking for help, but I did everything I could to help. The organ donation department is also doing their best. Unlike heart valves - I can operate on behalf of the patient at any time, organ transplantation requires an organ donor," he lamented.
There are many cases of waiting in vain like that. There were family patients who were fully qualified, searched from North to South but could not find an organ donor, and finally accepted to leave. Another case was brought out from the South and waited in the hospital for 2 months until he died without an organ donor.
Even, there are cases of people who agree to donate organs, but the hope is only slim because sometimes they refuse at the last minute. “Every time like that, we spend a lot of effort and money. What bothers me the most is the patient's frustration. Some people almost collapsed because the disease was very serious, after preparing everything, on the operating table, then all of a sudden, they were not allowed to donate organs anymore "- Mr. Uoc pondered.
Many times, it is equally "wrong": There are people who give organs but no recipients. By that time, the matching recipient was gone. Sometimes patients give up because they know they can't afford it, because they can't take care of their post-transplant life (regular check-ups, lifelong medication, etc.).
Assoc. Prof. Uoc explained: “Many people think that organ transplants such as appendectomy, cholecystectomy, etc., will be cured completely. In fact, organ transplantation is only a step to solve the transition from a chronic disease, life is not equal to death, there is a risk of death at any time, to a state of temporary stability, dependence on treatment, adherence to the principles of life. very strict rules of life”.
Occasionally, Mr. Uoc still receives calls from the patient's relatives. He said: “They called to congratulate them when they had a successful transplant from a brain-dead donor. Sometimes they confided, sad because their loved ones did not have such luck. I'm sad but don't know what to do. Such is life.”
"Lucky Fate"
Assoc. Prof-Dr. Nguyen Huu Uoc often tells patients receiving an organ transplant from a brain-dead donor is "lucky fate", "God" is fine. Some people just signed up for the transplant waiting list in the morning and found a donor in the afternoon, some people are still hopeless waiting forever.
Mr. Uoc said there was a patient named Diep, less than 30 years old, returned from the dead 3 times, fortunately still waiting for an organ donor. She had a very serious heart disease, and waited for 3 months without anyone to donate her organs.
“Her mother loves her son very much and is determined to save her even though her family is not rich. After the third death and resurrection, the doctor also felt despair, and then 3 weeks later, someone matched. Luck smiled, she is still alive now" - Assoc.
The second case is probably the oldest heart transplant patient in Vietnam alive and well. Having been ill for a long time, traveling to many places, the 2-year-old man was hospitalized in many hospitals due to end-stage heart failure. The patient told that in the last days before the heart transplant, he lived almost in another realm, had no health, no longer had the ability to communicate with the outside, all day he just lay with his eyes closed. When he heard the news that a heart transplant could be done, the hope of living in him glimmered again. He asked to be transferred to Viet Duc Hospital and after only 60 week, someone gave him.
This is the second trans-Vietnamese transplant, the heart was taken from Cho Ray Hospital (HCMC) and transferred. After the transplant, in the first day, the patient's health progress was very bad. However, at the end of the first day - like "lucky fate", his health suddenly improved very quickly and after 2 days he was out of danger. To this day, he is still alive and well.
“He used to tell me that every day he was able to live in the world was “thanks to God” for it. Therefore, he always tries to live the best he can” – Assoc.
Every day, at Viet Duc Hospital, there are 3-5 brain deaths, but every year there are only 3-4 organ donation cases. Organ sources are scarce, while the list of patients waiting for a transplant is getting longer and longer. Mr. Uong hopes that in the future, more and more people will donate organs to help prolong lives.
Hard problem
According to Associate Professor Nguyen Huu Uoc, if 9-10 years ago, heart transplant was a problem, now it has become a routine activity at Viet Duc Hospital. Since the first heart transplant case in 2011, until now, Viet Duc Hospital has performed nearly 30 cases, while supporting a number of other units to perform.
A liver transplant at Viet Duc Hospital (Hanoi)
Starting from the topic of the Ministry of Health in 2011 on heart transplant from brain dead donors, after the first 5-6 cases were successfully performed, the doctors developed a heart transplant procedure and "Vietnamized" the process. there. Still the standard process but improved to suit the conditions of Vietnam, from equipment, medicine to organ transportation... Since then, there have been cases of trans-Vietnam organ transportation and transplant.
Assoc. Assoc. Many patients have indications for a heart transplant but cannot afford it, both for the transplant and after the transplant. Sometimes there are organ donors, but the eligible recipients are not economically viable, or those with economic conditions are not suitable. How to solve this problem?
In case the patient is a child, doctors can mobilize the support of society. But, for adults, this is very difficult, to calculate the cost of surgery.
“Organ transplants are very specific, very expensive. This is a difficult problem, especially in the context of the market economy, the hospital has to calculate how to save many people, not just do 1 case, put all efforts to save 1 patient and then become exhausted. Wish wondering.
In fact, Assoc. Prof-Dr. Nguyen Huu Uoc has had to "dose" many times to transplant a patient's heart because they have no money.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Huu Uoc acknowledged: “There are few places like in Vietnam: Doctors both treat diseases and ask for money for patients; headaches, brain damage because of spending calculations”.
Indescribable joy
Recalling the first heart transplant, Assoc. Prof-Dr. Nguyen Huu Uoc humorously said: “When the transplant was done, it was done quietly, the pressure, the stress was terrible, everything was remembered. But after that, I don't remember anything because so many events happened." Mr. Uoc described the operating room as a mess at that time, people running in and out, noise and shouting at each other because everyone was surprised and pressured for the first transplant. When it was successful, bursting with joy.
Then came the first lung transplant, the work, though hard and difficult, brought indescribable joy. Due to ineligibility, Viet Duc Hospital does not send experts to study abroad or invest in equipment and machinery to perform lung transplants. “Therefore, instead of going to school all year, studying at an expensive center, doctors find a place that is "just right", doing their own research and building their own procedures. Going to a foreign country is just a matter of studying, visiting, and consulting with experts. If you have any equipment, you can use it, if you don't have it, you can borrow or borrow it. Therefore, when the transplant is successful, everyone is happy," said Assoc.
