Vietnam prime minister registers to donate tissues, organs

"Organ and tissue donation is one of the most valuable gifts that a person can give to others," Chinh said at a event on Sunday to launch the Health Ministry's campaign to encourage organ donations.

Vietnam was 50 years behind the world and about 20 years behind other countries in the region in organ transplantation, but its level has been on part with many countries, the PM said.

The survival rate after organ transplantation in Vietnam is even higher than in some developed countries, while the cost is much cheaper, he added.

From the first successful organ transplant 30 years ago, Vietnam has now mastered the technique of transplanting all types of organs and continuously performed many multi-organ transplants in recent times.

Since the first kidney transplant in 1992, there have been over 8,600 organ transplants performed nationwide.

More than7,900 were kidney transplant cases, over 590 were liver transplant cases, and the rest were for heart, lung, and and other multi-organ transplants.

Currently, Vietnam has thousands of tissue and organ donors and more than 86,000 people have registered to donate their tissues and organs after death, a rate which health officials said is among the lowest compared to countries worldwide.

Most Vietnamese still hold the belief that their loved ones should be allowed to cross over to the other side in one piece, and organ donation is still too far remote of an idea from what’s become tradition in their thousands-of-years-old culture. When someone’s death is near, families often bring them home to die, instead of letting them spend their last moments in a hospital.

Organ transplant policies still have limitations. Vietnam still lacks medical staff in the field of organ transplantation while facilities and equipment are limited. The Ministry of Health currently licenses 26 hospitals to perform such techniques.