While families across the country were still enjoying the warmth of the New Year holiday, an extraordinary act of generosity from one family quietly unfolded. Behind the doors of the operating theatre, new lives were being restored and hope was beginning to grow again.

 A Silent Grief and a Profoundly Humane Decision
Behind every organ donation lies a story of profound loss. For one family, it was the unimaginable pain of losing a beloved son. Yet even in their deepest grief, they chose to allow his passing to become a continuation of life for others.

Organ donation is not only a medical act—it is a powerful expression of compassion and humanity, a recognition that life can continue when hearts are willing to share.

The donor was Bùi Đức Quang, the only son in his family, cherished by his parents and loved deeply by relatives, friends, and teachers. Known for his kindness and integrity, Quang had previously been recognized by his school and the Hanoi Police Department in 2022 for returning lost property to its rightful owner.

Through tears, his mother shared: “My son has always been a kind and thoughtful person. When we learned that his organs could save many lives, we believed this would be something he would willingly do. I believe he would be happy knowing he could still help others—even after he is gone.”

A Race Against Time on the First Nights of Spring
As soon as the family consented to donate Quang’s organs, a race against time began.

Medical teams from Bach Mai Hospital—including specialists in intensive care, anesthesia, and surgery—immediately activated the hospital’s organ procurement protocol. Dozens of doctors, nurses, technicians, and support staff were mobilized, many of whom were still on holiday leave.

The National Coordination Center for Human Organ Transplantation was notified, and hospitals across the country rapidly joined the effort. Participating institutions included: University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City, National Lung Hospital, National Children’s Hospital, National Eye Hospital, Vinmec International Hospital, Military Hospital 103, Bach Mai Hospital

Hospital leadership personally directed the process. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Đào Xuân Cơ, Director of Bach Mai Hospital, emphasized the need for maximum precision and coordination while ensuring the safest possible conditions for organ procurement and transport.

Special arrangements were also made with airlines and local police authorities to facilitate rapid transportation of organs, as travel during the holiday period can be particularly challenging.

The hospital also supported visiting transplant teams with equipment, logistics, accommodation, and transportation.

“We are not simply performing an organ retrieval procedure,” Dr. Đào Xuân Cơ stressed. “We are fulfilling the deeply humane wish of a grieving family.”

Meanwhile, the transplant team traveling from Ho Chi Minh City rushed to the airport without even finishing dinner, boarding an urgent flight to Hanoi to receive the donor heart.

Life Renewed: Eight Lives Saved
As Quang was wheeled toward the operating theatre, his mother held his hand and whispered: “Stay strong, my son. I will be alright. Rest peacefully. I love you and I will always be with you.”
Outside, a light spring rain fell in the cold night air. Inside the operating room, every movement was precise, urgent, and careful.

A Heart Revives a Childhood
The donor heart was transported to Ho Chi Minh City and transplanted into a 10-year-old child suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy.

Six hours after retrieval, the heart began beating again.

“The heart has come back to life,” doctors at the University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City reported with deep emotion.

Two Liver Transplants Bring Hope to Waiting Patients
Quang’s left liver lobe was transplanted into a 23-month-old child at Vinmec Hospital who had biliary atresia and end-stage liver cirrhosis. The child had waited eight months on the transplant list. The transplanted liver segment began functioning well after surgery.

His right liver lobe was transplanted into a 45-year-old patient at Military Hospital 103, diagnosed with decompensated cirrhosis caused by hepatitis C. After more than a year of waiting, he traveled urgently from Cao Bằng Province upon receiving news of a suitable donor.

The transplant was performed overnight, and the graft began producing bile immediately. The patient is currently being monitored in the ICU.

Two Kidneys Restore Life at Bach Mai Hospital
Two patients suffering from end-stage kidney disease received kidney transplants directly at Bach Mai Hospital.

One patient, aged 51, had been undergoing dialysis since July 2025.
The other, aged 35, had been receiving peritoneal dialysis for five months. 

The two transplant recipients were treated in rooms adjacent to the donor’s operating theatre—separated only by a wall. Though they did not know each other or the identity of the donor, they now share the same gift of renewed life.

Standing outside the ward, their family members expressed deep gratitude: “We cannot thank the donor’s family enough for this meaningful act of generosity.”

During the night, the teams from Urology Surgery, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, and Anesthesiology and Intensive Care successfully completed two kidney transplant procedures. At present, both patients are stable, and the transplanted kidneys are functioning well.

Lungs and Corneas: The Breath and Light of Life
The donor lungs were transplanted into a 64-year-old man with severe COPD and lung bullae. Meanwhile, two corneal transplants restored vision to: A 45-year-old man with hereditary corneal dystrophy. A 24-year-old woman with keratoconus and severe corneal scarring.

Surgical teams from National Lung Hospital, National Eye Hospital, and Bach Mai Hospital later confirmed the success of the procedures. 

A Sleepless Night, A Spring of Hope

Throughout the night, surgical teams specializing in urology, thoracic and vascular surgery, anesthesia, and intensive care worked without rest. Support teams coordinated logistics down to the smallest detail.

Every stitch, every step of the process was performed with the utmost concentration.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vũ Văn Giáp expressed the team’s gratitude: “We bow in respect and gratitude to the donor and the family who transformed their grief into an act of extraordinary humanity. Each revived heartbeat today stands as a testament to the power of compassion. This noble act not only saves lives but also spreads awareness about organ donation—a humanitarian act that society should understand and support.”

This was not only a successful multi-organ transplantation, but also one of the first foundational steps in Bach Mai Hospital’s strategic development of a comprehensive multi-organ transplant program.

The hospital aims to master advanced transplantation techniques while strengthening inter-hospital collaboration across public and private sectors, military and civilian medicine, and across both regions of the country.

During the early days of the New Year, while many families gathered in celebration, dozens of doctors, nurses, technicians, and support staff set aside their own holidays to help fulfill the extraordinary wish of a grieving family.

From a heartbreaking loss, eight lives were reborn.
From a tearful decision, hope was planted and allowed to grow.

Spring at Bach Mai Hospital is therefore more than the blossoms of peach and apricot trees seen on the streets.

It is a spring of life shared,
a spring of hearts willing to give,
and a spring of renewed faith that even in the darkest moments, light can still be found beyond the doors of an operating room.

And somewhere, a mother finds comfort in believing that her son—the boy who once returned a lost wallet to its owner—has once again done something profoundly meaningful for the world.