Vietnam allows human organ donation

Vietnamese citizens aged 18 upwards have the rights to donate their tissues and viscera like kidneys and livers, under a new law, according to local media on Wednesday.

The Law on Donating, Getting, Transplanting Human Issues and Organs and Donating and Getting Cadavers, passed by the National Assembly of Vietnam on Tuesday, also allows the establishment of private issue banks which receive, preserve, transport, supply and exchange tissues for non-commerce purposes, newspaper Pioneer said.

The law, to take effect in July 2007, stipulates that foreigners have the rights to donate issues and organs to Vietnam and undergo issue and viscera transplants in the country.

Between 5,000 and 6,000 chronic kidney patients in Vietnam currently need to undergo kidney transplant surgery, and thousands of other local people want liver transplant, according to the country's Health Ministry. However, Vietnam is facing scarcity of kidney and liver sources for transplant, so some local patients have to undergo operation abroad at high cost.

Vietnam's first liver transplant was successfully conducted in 2004 with the liver donor being a 31-year-old man and the recipient being his 10-year-old daughter. The country has carried out kidney transplants since early 1990s.

Source: Xinhua