Vietnam makes its mark on the world organ transplant map with simultaneous heart-lung transplant

On August 13, Viet Duc Friendship Hospital announced the first successful simultaneous heart-lung transplant for a patient with multiple organ failure in Vietnam.

Dr. Duong Duc Hung - Director of Viet Duc Friendship Hospital affirmed that the success of the simultaneous heart-lung transplant for a patient with multiple organ failure has opened an important milestone, affirming the great progress of Viet Duc Friendship Hospital in the field of multiple organ transplantation, at the same time setting a milestone for Vietnamese medicine on the world map and opening up many opportunities to save the lives of critically ill patients.

Open more life opportunities for many people

Doctor Pham Huu Lu - Deputy Head of the Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery said that patient Tran Nhu Q. (38 years old) had a history of: atrial septal defect - severe pulmonary hypertension that was closed despite atrial septal defect at Hanoi Heart Hospital in 2011, not regularly monitored, had only been taking medication for 1 year, the patient had no history of stroke.

The patient was admitted to the hospital with the diagnosis of: Eisenmenger syndrome - irreversible right ventricular failure - severe tricuspid regurgitation/history of atrial septal defect closure, mortality in days, indication for simultaneous heart and lung transplantation despite lack of timely treatment for malnutrition and donor lung infected with Acinetor baummani and larger than the recipient's chest.

The heart-lung transplant technique was performed by a multi-specialty hospital: cardiology, thoracic surgery, anesthesia-resuscitation, surgery, rehabilitation, nutrition, etc. with a surgery time of 7 hours. The specialists had to use extracorporeal circulation to temporarily replace the heart and lungs for 7 hours. The surgical team of nearly 40 people included many different specialties.

“It is worth noting that to ensure the patient’s heart functions well, it is necessary to avoid infusing too much fluid causing pulmonary edema, use less anesthesia and use the most advanced hemodynamic monitoring equipment. During the process, doctors must cut off both lungs to fit, connect the two main bronchi instead of connecting the trachea according to the classic method to better perfuse the anastomosis, and use a flexible bronchoscope during surgery to evaluate the two main bronchi anastomoses,” Dr. Pham Huu Lu emphasized.

Doctors perform an organ transplant on a patient. (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

After lung transplantation, patients need to take strong immunosuppressants but are very susceptible to infection, so doctors need to balance the dose of immunosuppressants (because the drugs reduce resistance), and ultrafiltration of the blood to treat kidney failure due to many causes. Doctors have consulted to stop nephrotoxic antibiotics and control the concentration of immunosuppressants to reduce kidney toxicity and recover after 2 weeks. The patient continues to be monitored for resuscitation after transplantation.

This is an extremely rare case, requiring interdisciplinary coordination, applying the most advanced surgical and resuscitation techniques available today.

Making a mark on the world map of simultaneous heart-lung transplantation

Dr. Duong Duc Hung analyzed that heart-lung transplantation is an advanced medical technique in which the patient's heart and lungs are simultaneously replaced with a healthy heart and lungs from a suitable donor. This is the final treatment solution for patients with both end-stage heart and lung disease, when all other treatments are no longer effective. The surgery requires high technique, coordination of many specialties, and a special resuscitation and post-operative care system.

Heart-lung transplantation is rarely performed worldwide due to the need for rare organs, the complexity of the surgical procedure, and the high risk of complications. This transplant technique is indicated for cases of simultaneous heart disease and end-stage lung disease when all other treatment methods are no longer effective. Due to the need for rare organs and the extremely complex technique, only about 100 heart-lung transplants are performed worldwide each year.

The Director of Viet Duc Friendship Hospital emphasized that thanks to advances in surgery, resuscitation and post-transplant care, the results of heart-lung transplantation have improved significantly. In the UK, the 90-day survival rate is about 85% and 1-year survival is 72%. In the US, some leading centers such as Stanford Health Care have recorded a 1-year survival rate of nearly 90%, higher than the national average. Many international reports show that the 5-year survival rate after transplantation is currently about 60%, demonstrating the effectiveness of this method in prolonging and improving the quality of life for patients.

Mr. Ha Anh Duc - Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management ( Ministry of Health ) commented that this is the most difficult transplant in the world. The success of the simultaneous heart-lung transplant not only marks a great step forward in organ transplant capacity, especially multi-organ transplant, but also affirms the expertise of the Vietnamese medical team in the field of surgery. This achievement opens up new opportunities for life and treatment for patients with end-stage heart-lung disease.

“This is a great achievement not only for Viet Duc Friendship Hospital but also for the Vietnamese health sector. We have continued to make the Vietnamese health sector famous, on par with developed countries, where their income is dozens of times higher than ours,” said the Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management.

The patient's heart and lungs were simultaneously replaced with a healthy heart and lungs from a suitable donor. (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

In 2025, Viet Duc Friendship Hospital performed the highest number of cases of organ retrieval and transplantation from brain-dead donors ever. The program of organ retrieval and transplantation from brain-dead donors at the hospital has been carried out since 2010 and is the first hospital in the country to perform this technique. The average number of brain-dead donors per year is 8-10 cases, the highest being in 2025 with 25 cases of brain-dead donors.

Since the end of 2023 and especially in 2025, there has been a sudden increase in the number of brain-dead donors. From August 2024 to August 2025, the hospital has mobilized more than 50 cases of severe traumatic brain injury to agree to donate organs, and performed multiple organ retrieval from 34 brain-dead donors. In particular, there were weeks when the hospital performed multiple organ retrieval from brain-dead donors to transplant to a series of patients receiving hearts, livers, kidneys, and even patients receiving two organs at the same time.

In the past year from August 2024 to August 2025, the number of cases agreeing to donate brain-dead organs has increased to a record high, so the number of cases of multiple organ retrieval after resuscitation and brain-dead diagnosis is the highest ever.

Total number of organ transplant cases from living and brain-dead donors at Viet Duc Friendship Hospital as of August 12, 2025: 2,478 cases (including 109 heart transplants, 8 lung transplants, 169 liver transplants, 2,192 kidney transplants)./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/viet-nam-ghi-dau-tren-ban-do-ghep-tang-the-gioi-voi-ca-ghep-dong-thoi-tim-phoi-post1055404.vnp