VIETNAM: Tissue Bank Opens, Aims To Reduce 1,000-Patient Corneal Transplant Waitlist

Hanoi Hospital Launches Tissue Bank To Expand corneal transplant Capacity

WORLD NEWS – VIETNAM: Dong Đô Hospital in Hanoi unveiled a new tissue bank as part of its 15th anniversary program, introducing a dedicated facility aimed at increasing supplies for corneal transplantation and other ocular repairs. The Ministry of Health granted the hospital permission to operate the bank in September 2025, marking a formal step in the hospital’s plan to build a more complete clinical ecosystem for sight-restoring therapies.

Health authorities report a substantial and growing need: more than 300,000 people nationwide live with blindness attributable to corneal disease, with roughly 15,000 new cases added each year and a waiting list for grafts reaching about 1,000 patients. Current sources of suitably processed tissue have been limited, leaving many patients in prolonged queues for procedures that can restore vision or prevent catastrophic eye loss.

The tissue bank will manage the full chain of custody and quality control under international standards, including donor screening, laboratory testing, preservation, traceability, and clinical supply. In addition to corneal tissue, the facility will collect and store amniotic membrane donated by healthy mothers after childbirth. Those membranes are identified as critical material for treating surface injuries of the cornea and for use in urgent, complex ophthalmic emergencies.

Hospital leaders and regulators present the bank as the technical foundation for offering advanced graft techniques, expanding the scope and safety of transplant work, and shortening patients’ wait times. By centralizing processing and storage, the new unit aims to supply surgeons with better-characterized tissue and to support more timely corneal transplantation and emergency ocular care across the hospital’s service network.