Husband splits his liver to save his wife: When love and medicine work together to create miracles

“I will give you a part of my body, a part of my life”

In medicine, there have been many cases of children donating their livers to their parents, or parents donating their livers to their children, as blood ties that extend life. On the contrary, the number of cases of husbands and wives donating their livers to each other can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The transplant of Ms. Duong Thi Men (28 years old, Hai Phong ) is one of those rare cases.

As a young doctor who usually wears a white coat to save people, one day Ms. Men suddenly became a patient, facing a serious illness of decompensated cirrhosis, severely reduced liver function and was diagnosed with a poor prognosis with a slim chance of survival.

Couple Ms. Men - Mr. Hau .

Faced with the crossroads of life and death, her husband - Mr. To Quang Hau (33 years old) volunteered to get tested. Despite the possible risks, he only said one sentence that made everyone silent: "If I can't give you complete happiness, I will give you a part of my body, a part of my life."

The surgery was performed by a team of leading doctors and medical experts at Vinmec using modern laparoscopic liver resection techniques combined with ICG fluorescence staining, helping to minimize complications and shorten recovery time. Thanks to her husband's love and the solid expertise of the Vinmec medical team, Ms. Men's chance of survival was extended, continuing to accompany Mr. Hau on the journey of life ahead.

Love turns 1% chance into life

Unlike Ms. Men's case, Ms. Hoang Thi Thu Hien (44 years old, Hanoi ) was hospitalized in critical condition, with liver coma, gastrointestinal bleeding, and her life was counted by the hours. Her underlying diseases - Wilson's, cirrhosis, and multiple miscarriages - almost closed the door to treatment.

In the moment of life and death, Mr. Nguyen The Hanh - her husband chose the only way to donate his liver to save his wife even though the doctor said "Ms. Hien only had a 1% chance of survival". The transplant took place on Mr. Hanh's birthday.

“To me, there is no gift more precious than my wife's life,” Mr. Hanh determined.

Mr. Nguyen The Hanh - husband of patient Hoang Thi Thu Hien

The transplant was performed by Vinmec doctors according to international standards, from compatibility screening, evaluation of donor liver function, ICG-assisted laparoscopic liver resection, to special post-operative care in the liver transplant intensive care unit (hepatobiliary ICU). Thanks to that, the risk of complications was minimized, Ms. Hien quickly overcame the critical stage and is now actively recovering.

Associate Professor, Dr. Le Van Thanh, Deputy General Director of Surgery, Vinmec Healthcare System, shared: "In medicine, a 1% chance is extremely valuable, but to turn that chance into life, it takes love, sacrifice and the belief to never give up."

Doctor Le Van Thanh happily chatted with patient Duong Thi Men after the successful liver transplant.

Two rare transplants - two husbands donating livers to save their wives - are both medical successes and a testament to the sacred value of marital love. If blood ties parents and children together, then love is an invisible, equally strong bond. The donated liver not only revives life, but also kindles faith and hope for an entire family.

According to data from the National Organ Transplant Coordination Center, Vinmec is currently one of eight medical facilities and the only private unit in the country capable of performing liver transplants. The consecutive successful performance of two rare transplants in August 2025 not only consolidates its leading position but also affirms Vinmec's outstanding professional capacity on the medical map of Vietnam and the world. This achievement also shows that Vinmec has become a prestigious medical address, where love and medicine come together to continue writing miraculous stories about life.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/chong-chia-doi-la-gan-cuu-vo-khi-tinh-yeu-va-y-hoc-hoa-nhip-de-viet-nen-dieu-ky-dieu-d389143.html