Vietnam family donates organs of brain‑dead motorist, saving seven patients

A 49‑year‑old man from Thư Lâm, Hanoi, suffered a severe brain injury in a motorcycle accident and was declared brain‑dead after multiple surgeries failed to save him. His family agreed to donate all viable organs. The heart was transplanted at the University Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City for a patient with end‑stage heart failure. The liver was split, with one portion sent to the Vietnam‑German Friendship Hospital and the other to a critically ill child at the Central Children Hospital. Both kidneys were transplanted locally, and the corneas were transferred to Dong Do Hospital to restore sight for other patients. In total, seven recipients received life‑saving transplants.

Nurse Đinh Thị Thu Nga, who assisted the family, said, “The family turned their loss into an opportunity to live for others.” The case underscores the acute shortage of donor organs in Vietnam and the critical role of family consent in expanding transplant opportunities.