Bộ Y tế: Hướng tới Luật Hiến, lấy, ghép mô, bộ phận cơ thể người minh bạch, nhân văn

The Ministry of Health is spearheading a comprehensive overhaul of Vietnam’s legal framework governing organ procurement, tissue donation, and transplantation, marking the first major legislative update in two decades. In an extensive briefing with the press, Dr. Hà Anh Đức, Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment under the Ministry of Health, outlined the core principles driving the draft Law on Donation, Removal, and Transplantation of Tissues and Human Body Parts and Donation and Recovery of Corpses (Amended). The legislative reform aims to balance the urgent, life-saving needs of thousands of patients with rigorous ethical standards, absolute transparency, and ironclad protections for vulnerable populations—particularly children.

Two Decades of Medical Progress and Legal Bottlenecks

The original legal foundation for organ transplantation in Vietnam was established by the Law on Donation, Removal, and Transplantation of Tissues and Human Body Parts and Donation and Recovery of Corpses in 2006. At the time of its enactment, Vietnam’s transplant sector was in its infancy, having performed its first successful liver transplant shortly before, with kidney transplants making up the vast majority of surgical procedures.

Over the past twenty years, however, the landscape of Vietnamese medicine has experienced a transformative evolution. The nation has caught up with global medical advancements, mastering complex multi-organ procedures such as heart, lung, and liver transplants. Currently, 34 specialized medical centers across the country routinely perform advanced organ procedures that rival international standards.

Despite these remarkable clinical achievements, the legal framework established in 2006 has become increasingly obsolete. The original legislation focused primarily on tissue and organ donations from living or deceased donors. Today, rapid advancements in regenerative medicine—including stem cell research, tissue engineering, and the cultivation of biological tissues such as corneal matrices—have created novel legal demands. Furthermore, practical implementation data reveals that over 90 percent of current transplants in Vietnam rely on living donors, while deceased donation rates remain critically low. This severe shortage of post-mortem organs fails to meet the soaring clinical demand, creating an urgent imperative to reform the legal architecture governing organ allocation and consent.

Addressing Structural Imbalances and Protecting Minors

The newly revised draft law addresses two fundamental challenges: re-evaluating and tightening regulations surrounding living donors while expanding and streamlining post-mortem donation frameworks. Among the most intensely debated topics during legislative discussions has been the provision allowing individuals under 18 years of age to participate in tissue and organ donation.

Addressing public and parliamentary concerns, the Ministry of Health has repeatedly emphasized that the rights and welfare of children take absolute precedence. Under the revised draft law, the foundational principle remains absolute: individuals under 18 years of age are strictly prohibited from donating non-regenerative organs or tissues while alive.

The law strictly limits living minors to donating regenerative tissues—such as hematopoietic stem cells or bone marrow—under exceptionally stringent conditions. Specifically, the draft stipulates five mandatory safeguards for minor donors:

1. The recipient of the regenerative tissue must be a biological brother, sister, or sibling.
2. Donation is permitted only when no suitable adult donor source is available.
3. The minor must receive independent, comprehensive counseling tailored precisely to their age and cognitive level to ensure full comprehension.
4. Formal, written consent must be obtained from the child’s parents or legal guardians.
5. The child’s autonomous decision must be respected unconditionally at every single stage of the process, ensuring that no form of coercion, pressure, or undue influence is ever applied, and allowing the minor to withdraw consent at any moment prior to the procedure.

These rigorous requirements are designed to prevent any exploitation of regenerative donation frameworks, ensuring that the altruistic act of saving a life is never compromised by external pressures or malicious intent.

Establishing a National Allocation System and Combating Conflicts of Interest

Beyond living donation protocols, the amended law establishes a centralized national allocation system governed by strict principles of openness, transparency, and equity. Historically, the lack of a unified distribution mechanism created vulnerabilities in how organs were matched and allocated from deceased donors.

The revised legislation mandates the creation of objective scoring formulas and tools supported by a national registry. Priority criteria for organ allocation will factor in objective medical metrics, including the patient’s age, clinical urgency, pathology, and physiological parameters. To eliminate conflicts of interest, the draft law enforces absolute structural independence between the various stages of the transplantation process:

• Brain death certification boards must operate independently, focusing solely on diagnosing brain death based on clinical criteria. Physicians serving on these boards are strictly barred from knowing who the recipient will be or where the organs will be sent.
• Attending physicians and treatment teams cannot participate in brain death certification or donation counseling panels if a conflict of interest is present.
• Allocation must rely strictly on waiting lists and objective scoring criteria, preventing any backdoor interference or preferential selection.

These measures are specifically crafted to prevent commercialization, eliminate illicit brokering, and shield the organ donation ecosystem from corruption or unethical exploitation.

Strict Penalties for Medical Personnel and Commercialization Risks

To ensure that the noble act of organ donation is never tainted by illicit financial motives, the draft law introduces severe administrative and criminal penalties for any medical personnel involved in organ trafficking or commercial brokerage.

Doctors and healthcare workers found to be engaging in the buying, selling, or unauthorized brokering of tissues and organs will face immediate dismissal, revocation of their medical licenses, and severe legal prosecution. Furthermore, the legislation establishes rigid oversight mechanisms to monitor medical professionals across all stages of counseling, organ harvest, and post-transplant distribution. By decoupling the diagnostic phase from the allocation and surgical phases, the Ministry of Health aims to create an impermeable barrier against the commodification of human organs.

Broader Social Implications and Next Steps in the Legislative Process

The legislative overhaul reflects a profound societal evolution in how Vietnamese citizens perceive life, death, and altruism. Over the past two decades, public awareness regarding post-mortem organ donation has matured significantly, yet significant cultural and administrative barriers remain.

By expanding opportunities for altruistic donations while closing legal loopholes, the amended law strives to offer a renewed lease on life for patients languishing on transplant waiting lists. At the same time, the Ministry of Health maintains that no expansion of donor sources will ever supersede the safety, legal rights, and physical well-being of donors, with special emphasis on safeguarding children and vulnerable groups.

Following extensive parliamentary deliberations and continuous refinement based on feedback from National Assembly deputies and legal experts, the draft law is moving closer to finalization. The Ministry of Health has reiterated its commitment to maintaining an open, receptive dialogue with lawmakers and the public, ensuring that the final legislation is both profoundly humanitarian and operationally airtight. Through this landmark reform, Vietnam seeks to build a modern, transparent, and ethical organ transplantation system capable of meeting future medical challenges while upholding the highest standards of human dignity.