A delegation from the 103 Military Hospital, Vietnam Military Medical University (VMMU) recently assisted 103 Military Central Hospital, Lao People’s Army, in performing four pairs of kidney transplants from living donors. The surgeries were carried out in strict accordance with technical procedures, with each step—from pre-transplant preparation, anesthesia, kidney removal, kidney cleaning, to the transplantation itself, and post-transplant monitoring and recovery—being conducted by their technical teams under the guidance and support of Vietnamese experts.

All transplant cases achieved good results. By April 9, the patients had stabilized, their kidney functions were normal, and they were discharged from the hospital, happily returning to their families to prepare for the traditional New Year of their nation.

Vietnamese experts assessed that their technical teams had been proactive and active in learning, accepting technical transfers, and had essentially mastered some stages of the kidney transplantation process; they strive to fully control all technical procedures of kidney transplantation by the end of 2024.

Experts from the 103 Military Hospital have transferred kidney transplant surgical techniques to the physicians of the 103 Military Central Hospital, Lao People’s Army.

Previously, in 2022, experts from the 103 Military Hospital, Vietnam Military Medical University assisted the 103 Military Central Hospital, Lao People’s Army, in successfully performing the first two kidney transplants in Laos. This event marked a historic turning point, opening a new chapter for the field of organ transplantation in Laos in particular, and for the Lao healthcare sector in general. Following that success, in 2023, the 103 Military Hospital, Vietnam Military Medical University continued to support and assist the 103 Military Central Hospital, Lao People’s Army, in successfully performing nine pairs of kidney transplants.

All four patients are stable, with normal kidney function, and have been discharged from the hospital.

In Laos, the number of patients with end-stage renal disease is on the rise. It is estimated that there are currently over 1,000 people with renal failure undergoing dialysis throughout Laos. Mastering kidney transplant techniques will provide opportunities for renal failure patients to receive transplants within Laos, helping the country’s organ transplantation sector gradually reach the standards of other countries in the region.

News, photo: Le Cuong, Translator: NGUYEN NGOC ANH