According to Lieutenant General Do Quyet, Director of the Military Medical University, the Party committee and board of directors of the university defined performing an intestine transplant from a living donor as a key mission after its success in kidney, liver, heart, pancreas-kidney, and embryo transplants.
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At the press conference announcing the intestine transplants |
To do this, in 2018, the university sent its personnel to Japan to gain experience in performing intestine transplants from their peers at Tohoku University Hospital and hosted the Japanese university’s experts who came for experience sharing.
Last December, the university was assigned by the Ministry of Science and Technology to conducting the scientific project “A study on intestine transplant from living donors” with the university’s director Lieutenant General Do Quyet as the author.
With support from experts from Tohoku University Hospital, close coordination with other domestic hospitals and thorough preparations of medical staff and equipment, the university decided to conduct intestine transplants from living donors on two patients, Nguyen Van D aged 42, and Lo Van T aged 26.
Both patients faced short bowel syndrome type 1 and 3, respectively and had to live on intravenous feeding.
On October 27, 2020, the university’s doctors teamed with experts from Tohoku University Hospital to perform the intestine transplant on patient Lo Van T with his mother aged 47 as the living donor. A day later, they conducted another transplant on patient Nguyen Van D. His younger brother aged 40 was the donor.
After the transplants, both donors are in stable health condition while the patients have stable survival indicators.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Defense Minister General Ngo Xuan Lich sent congratulation to the university on its successful intestine transplants which remain the most challenging organ transplants in the world.
Addressing the meeting with the press, on behalf of the Central Military Commission and Ministry of National Defense, Vice Admiral Pham Hoai Nam, Deputy Defense Minister lauded the university’s doctors and nurses for their achievements in intestine transplants, the development of SAR-CoV2 test kits and the upcoming clinical trial of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Nam emphasized that these great achievements are not only by the Military Medical University, but also the military and national medical sectors.
He asked the university to bring into full play their good outcomes, exert all-out efforts to develop the military and national medical sectors while expanding international cooperation and applying cutting-edge medical technologies to improving treatment for patients.
With its successful intestine transplants, the Military Medical University has asked the Health Ministry for permission to officially perform intestine transplants at its affiliate Military Hospital 103.
Translated by Mai Huong