Today, the Department of Medical Service Administration under the Ministry of Health informed the press about the first domino-type multi-organ transplant in Vietnam, performed at Viet Duc Friendship Hospital.
As reported by the hospital, the organ donor was a 42-year-old female with no previous medical conditions who suffered a severe traffic accident on the afternoon of March 11 and was subsequently admitted to Viet Duc Hospital for urgent medical care. Despite receiving intensive treatment, the patient entered a profound coma, registering a Glasgow score of 3, and entirely lost her light reflexes. Following doctors' declaration of brain death, the family consented to the donation of her organs for medical purposes.
From this donor, doctors were able to get her heart, liver, two kidneys, and some tissues for transplantation to critically ill patients awaiting transplants. Notably, among the organ recipients was a 53-year-old male patient with the rare disease Amyloidosis (a protein disorder causing multiple organ failure). To achieve complete recovery, the male patient needed both a heart and a liver transplant simultaneously. The new heart sustained his life, and the new liver stopped the production of faulty proteins.
Following nearly 7 hours of uninterrupted surgery, the transplanted heart began to beat once more directly on the operating table, while the transplanted liver promptly produced bile – an indication that the organs were operating effectively. The patient was extubated after 12 hours and experienced a swift recovery in the subsequent days.
However, the extraordinary situation did not end there. The liver of the patient suffering from Amyloidosis, despite harboring a mutation, exhibited nearly normal structure and function. Rather than being discarded, this liver was utilized for transplantation into a 64-year-old man diagnosed with liver cancer against a backdrop of cirrhosis caused by hepatitis B, whose prognosis was severely restricted without a transplant. This marks the inaugural application of the Domino Liver Transplantation technique in Vietnam.
In this transplant case, the doctors worked in parallel with multiple surgical teams. The domino liver transplant surgery lasted approximately 6 hours, and the results were very promising, with the transplanted liver functioning well immediately after the operation. Both liver and heart-liver recipients experienced favorable postoperative outcomes, remaining alert and able to sit up and eat within 72 hours.
According to experts, domino liver transplant is an innovative solution to optimize the scarce supply of donated organs. Although the liver from amyloidosis patients continues to produce abnormal proteins, the disease progression in recipients is usually slow, potentially lasting 10-15 years or more. Therefore, this method is particularly suitable for elderly patients or those with severe conditions such as liver cancer, where the immediate benefits outweigh the long-term risks.
Globally, this technique has been implemented since 1995 and has proven effective at many major organ transplant centers. However, in Vietnam, this is the first time the technique has been successfully applied, marking a significant step forward in accessing modern organ transplantation methods. Beyond its technical success, this event also demonstrates the remarkable maturity of Vietnamese medicine, especially in the field of organ transplantation.
