Vietnam’s youngest heart transplant patient discharged from hospital

Seven-year-old L.X.H, the youngest-ever heart transplant recipient in Vietnam, has been discharged from hospital, the Hanoi-based Viet Duc Hospital informed on March 3.

Seven-year-old L.X.H, the youngest-ever heart transplant recipient in Vietnam, has been discharged from hospital. (Photo: VNA)
Seven-year-old L.X.H, the youngest-ever heart transplant recipient in Vietnam, has been discharged from hospital. (Photo: VNA)

Before the surgery, the child, weighing only 16 kg, suffered from dilated cardiomyopathy and end-stage heart failure.

The patient received the heart from a 19-year-old brain-dead donor, with the surgery conducted on February 1.

The child’s mother thanked the family of the donor who, she said, has given her child a new life, and the dedication of doctors and nurses of the hospital.

This is the fifth heart transplant performed on a child at the hospital.

Viet Duc has performed five lung, 36 heart, 92 liver, and nearly 1,100 kidney transplants in total so far.

It is the leading centre nationwide for collecting and transplanting organs. All patients are healthy and have returned to daily living.

In March 2017, a 10-year-old boy in Hanoi became the smallest heart transplant patient at that time. After getting the heart from a brain-dead donor, he is now in a stable condition.