Vietnam still in need of tissue, organ donation

Illustrative image. (Source: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – The number of people
registered for has remained very small and fails to
meet the nation’s demand for organ transplants, said , Deputy Director
of the .

The number of volunteers registered for tissue
and organ donation has increased in the past several years. In 2014, there were
only 265 volunteers registered for tissue and organ donation after death or
brain death.

As of 2015, the number increased to 2,000, and
by 2018, the number has grown to nearly 18,000. 

However, there was a huge gap between the need
for organ transplants and limited organ donation, Phuc said.

He said the law on donation, removal and
transplantation of human tissues and organs, which was passed in 2006, has
created a legal framework for the activities in the country.

It has also encouraged those who were qualified
and willing to donate a part of their body while alive or tissues and organs
after death. Accordingly, any person 18 years old or older who has civil
capacity and voluntary behavior has the right to donate tissues and organs
while alive or after death.

Phuc said the receipt of tissues and organs for
transplants had to meet strict criteria for hygiene.

Figures from the Traffic Safety Committee showed
that in one year an average of nearly 10,000 people died from traffic
accidents, he added.

Although the numbers were not desirable, access to
donor organs from these individuals could meet the need for organ transplants,
Phuc said.

The health sector has made efforts to educate
and encourage the community to open its heart to donate tissues and organs to
help save lives in the future, he said.-VNA