On July 8, Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan sent a directive to provincial health departments, health authorities under ministries and agencies, and hospitals performing human tissue and organ transplants, calling for stricter compliance with regulations on the coordination of human tissue and organ transplantation.
The Ministry of Health has reminded medical facilities that only the National Coordination Center for Human Organ Transplantation is legally authorized to manage the allocation and coordination of donated organs and tissues. It has ordered a crackdown on medical facilities that independently connect donors and recipients or coordinate organ and tissue transplants in violation of legal regulations.
Medical facilities certified to procure and transplant human tissues and organs must comply with the law governing the donation, procurement, and transplantation of human tissues and body parts, as well as body donation. The National Coordination Center for Human Organ Transplantation is responsible for coordinating the procurement, transplantation, preservation, storage, and transportation of human tissues and body parts.
According to the Ministry, it received reports from the National Coordination Center for Human Organ Transplantation that some medical facilities had independently connected donors and recipients and coordinated organ and tissue transplants in ways that violated legal regulations.
The Ministry of Health required all medical facilities certified to procure and transplant human tissues and organs to comply with the law on the donation, procurement, and transplantation of human tissues and body parts, as well as body donation.
Under Article 36 of the Law on the Donation, Procurement and Transplantation of Human Tissues and Body Parts and Body Donation, only the National Coordination Center for Human Organ Transplantation is authorized to coordinate the procurement, transplantation, preservation, storage, and transportation of human tissues and body parts.
Medical facilities were instructed to urgently review and rectify all procedures related to coordination, receipt, appraisal, and verification of the relationship between donors and recipients in accordance with the law, particularly in cases involving living donors. They will be held legally accountable and responsible to the Ministry of Health for any violations occurring within their management.
According to the Ministry of Health, there are currently 32 hospitals nationwide recognized by the ministry as qualified to procure and transplant human tissues and organs. These include Viet Duc, Bach Mai, National Lung Hospital, 108 Military Central Hospital, Hue Central Hospital, Cho Ray, and National Children's Hospital.
