Health · Healthcare & Policy · 6 hrs ago
Vietnam draft sets safeguards for tissue and organ donation by minors
Vietnam’s Ministry of Health has clarified a draft law on tissue and organ donation after public concern about allowing people under 18 to register as donors.
The ministry says the proposal is meant to protect children while creating more chances to save sick children who may need organs that are difficult to obtain from adults.
Under the draft, minors could register to donate after death, but only with written consent from a parent or guardian, and they could later change or withdraw their registration.
Healthy organs could not be taken from living minors; living donation would be limited to certain tissues, such as blood-forming stem cells, for close family members when no suitable adult donor is available.
These cases would require the child’s consent, guardian approval and independent advice and checks.
Donation after death would require a stated wish to donate, guardian consent and confirmation of death by an independent expert council.
The draft is before Vietnam’s National Assembly, and consultation responses, including children’s views, will be considered as the law is revised.
Vietnam’s draft law would allow people under 18 to register as tissue and organ donors after death, with written consent from a parent or guardian.
Living donation by minors would be limited to regenerative tissues for family members when no suitable adult donor is available.
The draft would continue to prohibit removing healthy organs from living people under 18.
The Health Ministry says the proposal is intended to protect children’s interests while helping patients, including seriously ill children awaiting transplants.
Public discussion has raised concerns about whether children understand donation and whether their views could be influenced by others.
- Who
- Vietnam’s Ministry of Health and the body drafting the law are proposing the changes. The rules concern people under 18 and patients needing transplants.
- What
- A draft amendment would allow minors to register as donors after death and, in limited cases, donate regenerative tissue while alive.
- When
- The proposal was discussed in October 2026. The sources do not state when it would take effect.
- Where
- Vietnam.
- Why
- The ministry says the draft would protect children while creating opportunities to save patients’ lives, including children who need appropriately sized tissues or organs.
Public concerns
Vietnam’s Ministry of Health and drafting bodies
Aspect
Public concerns
Public concerns
Vietnam’s Ministry of Health and drafting bodies
Ministry and drafting bodies’ view
Children’s understanding
Public concerns
Some have questioned whether children as young as seven can understand donation and its implications.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Health and drafting bodies
Children should receive age-appropriate explanations and should not be expected to complete the questionnaire without guidance.
Influence on responses
Public concerns
Some have raised concerns that parents, teachers or survey wording could shape children’s answers.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Health and drafting bodies
The questionnaire allows children to express their own views, and consultation results will inform revisions to the draft.
Donation safeguards
Public concerns
The proposal has prompted concerns about allowing minors to register or donate.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Health and drafting bodies
Living donation would be restricted to regenerative tissue in exceptional family cases, while healthy-organ removal from living minors remains prohibited.
Tuoi Tre News reported that the ministry was seeking views from children aged seven to under 18 on the draft law.
LuatVietnam reported that the Ministry of Health had clarified the proposed safeguards for minors.
Vietnam.vn described the draft’s restrictions on living donation and its conditions for donation after death.
- Consultation age range
- 7 to under 18
- Living donation
- Regenerative tissues, such as hematopoietic stem cells, in limited cases
- Eligible recipients
- Family members; children under 15 may donate to biological parents or siblings
- Living-organ restriction
- Healthy organs may not be removed from living people under 18
- After-death registration
- Written consent from a parent or guardian
- Current law
- The 2006 law has been in force for nearly 20 years
3 sources
Health ministry clarifies proposal to allow individuals under 18 to donate tissues and organs
The draft Law on Donation, Procurement, and Transplantation of Human Tissues and Organs (amended) has been a "hot" issue in the healthcare sector this past week.
Vietnam health ministry seeks children’s views on draft organ, tissue donation law