Vietnam performs first domino multi-organ transplant

The Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management under the Ministry of Health (MoH) and Viet Duc Friendship Hospital announced on March 19 the successful performance of the first domino multi-organ transplant in Vietnam and in the Southeast Asian region.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Duong Duc Hung, director of Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, said that this domino-style multi-organ transplant case has many unique features and is not commonly performed in many countries around the world.

The patient is a 53-year-old man was transferred to Viet Duc Friendship Hospital in a state of heart failure, with signs of neurological damage and kidney damage.

Photo: Viet Duc Friendship Hospital

Previously, the patient had a history of good health. In 2024, the patient began experiencing fatigue and muscle weakness when walking. Examination at the Vietnam-France Hospital revealed mild systolic function accompanied by myocardial thickening. The diagnosis confirmed the patient had hereditary amyloidosis due to a transthyretin gene mutation.

Assoc. Prof., Dr. Nguyen Quang Nghia, director of the Organ Transplant Centre at Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, said that the rare metabolic disorder in the male patient usually causes symptoms in other organs (such as the skin), but in this case, it manifested very clearly in the cardiovascular system and peripheral nerves, putting the patient at risk of death due to heart failure complications.

"The proteins broke down, couldn't be metabolised, and deposited in the tissues, causing multi-organ damage, especially to the heart. Therefore, after a professional consultation, the patient was scheduled for a heart transplant and a replacement of the defective liver, which was the culprit causing the multi-organ damage," explained Nghia.

In this procedure, the liver from the patient who had just received a transplant was subsequently used for another recipient who suffers liver cancer.

Photo: Viet Duc Friendship Hospital

Nghia explained that the liver cancer patient has end-stage liver cancer, and the prognosis is uncertain, whether it's months or days away. Although the transplanted liver is defective, it can last for 25–30 years, and therefore the recipient can still enjoy stable health and a good quality of life into old age.

Dr. Ha Anh Duc, director of the Department of Medical Examination Management, said, "We have put our name on the international organ transplant map. Currently, the Ministry of Health is developing a medical tourism project, and achievements like this contribute positively to Vietnam's medical standing."

To date, only over 100 cases in the US and Europe have undergone simultaneous liver and heart transplants for this condition.

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