The intervention was carried out in two pairs of recipients and donors thanks to the support of Vietnam. According to Military Hospital 103, at least 1,000 patients suffer from kidney failure. In Laos, the national health system covers only 6 dialysis sessions per person.
Vientiane () – Thanks to Vietnam’s support, the 103 Military Hospital in Laos has managed to perform the first two kidney transplants in the country. In a press conference held today, the doctor Colonel Savangxay Darasart, director of the military hospital, confirmed that the two patients, operated on December 31, have fully recovered from the intervention.
The living donor operation was possible thanks to the support of 8 Vietnamese doctors, who collaborated with the Laotian medical team to select 2 donor-recipient pairs.
Laos is one of the few countries in Southeast Asia that had not yet been able to perform kidney transplants. In September last year the country, ruled since 1975 by the Communist Party, had received four dialysis machines worth one billion kip (equivalent to $65,000) from the Australian government. The Military Hospital 103 estimates that there are more than 1,000 patients with kidney failure throughout the country who need periodic dialysis. But more than 30,000 people die every year from non-communicable diseases, of which diabetes is one of the most common. According to the World Health Organization, approximately half of these deaths could be prevented.
The Laos health insurance system covers only 6 free dialysis sessions for each person, while subsequent sessions must be paid in full by patients. A single dialysis session costs between $50 and $70. The average monthly salary in Laos is $223. Many patients with kidney failure (whose number is increasing according to studies by the Ministry of Health) travel to Vietnam, where there are 21 transplant centers, to undergo the intervention.
