Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has registered his tissues and organs for donation and called on people to voluntarily help save lives. He made the appeal at a ceremony in Hanoi to launch the organ and tissue donation campaign, coinciding with the 134th anniversary of the birth of President Ho Chi Minh on May 19.

Two weeks after the call, 10,000 additional people have followed suit, with 1,300 medical officials and workers in Quang Ninh Province, including Tran Van Truong, serving as an example.

“I think it’s good if I can help others after my death. There are many patients who are anxious every day to receive tissue or organ transplants. For me, it’s a way to express my gratitude to this life.”

The stories of individual organ donors nationwide have touched the hearts of many, especially the relatives of people declared brain-dead.

Duong Quang Dong and Nguyen Thi Nhan of Quang Ninh, as an example, were very sad when their son, the main breadwinner in the family, was declared deceased because of an accident.

But both parents repressed their pain and decided to donate their son’s organs to help other patients live, said Dong, adding, “I wish the recipients good health. I think organ donation is the right thing to do.”

“The ancients believed that bones should be kept. But even if the heart and liver were cremated, they would burn. If they were buried, they would decompose. Nothing is left. But after an organ donation to save a life, somehow parts of my child’s body will still be alive,” said Dong. 

Organ donation is a noble act because an organ transplant is considered the therapy of choice for patients with end-stage organ failure.

Overcoming many psychological and family barriers, many individuals have recently registered to donate their tissues, organs, and body parts in the event they are declared brain-dead to present a chance of life to those still living but in need.

Huynh Thi Ngoc Trang, President of the Red Cross Society of Huong Thuy  Commune in Thua Thien-Hue Province, was one of the first people in her locality to register.

With a record of donating her blood 84 times, Trang believes that humanity, empathy, love, and useful living is when she can help those around her. She wishes to donate her tissues and organs when she dies, enabling the patients on the verge of death to continue living.

“In our area, people who donated their tissues and organs have saved seven people. Two corneas have helped two people regain their vision and when all the body parts are donated other patients have been helped to maintain their lives,” Trang noted.

Organ and tissue transplants are one of the great advancements of medicine in the world because this is a last resort for treating chronic and severe illness where organs are irreversibly damaged.

In addition to kidneys and livers, which can be donated while the donor is still alive, other tissues and organs can only be taken and transplanted when the donor is deceased or declared brain dead.

Vietnam’s current organ transplant level is on a par with the rest of the world. Since the first successful kidney transplant 23 years ago, the Hue Central Hospital has successfully performed more than 1,800 organ transplants.

The program to donate tissues, organs, and human body parts in Thua Thien-Hue Province has received an enthusiastic response from many people.

Hoang Vinh Phu, Deputy President of the provincial Red Cross Society, underscored the need to raise community awareness about the meaning of tissue and organ donation.

“We’ve diversified ways of communication and organized talks to share information with local people, through which we emphasize the meaning and importance of registering for tissue and organ donation to all people in helping patients in difficult circumstances live a brighter future,” said Phu.