In response to the alarming reality of organ trafficking networks, the Ministry of Health issued Official Letter No. 1548/BYT-KCB on March 10, 2026, proposing to regulate activities related to the donation, procurement, and transplantation of human tissues and organs.
In the “Draft Law on the Donation, Removal, and Transplantation of Human Tissues and Organs and the Donation and Removal of Cadavers” (Amendment), currently under review by the National Assembly, the drafting agency has proposed expanding the scope to include minors under 18 years of age, including children under 15 in certain specific cases.
This move immediately met with deep skepticism from experts, National Assembly deputies, and, in particular, extreme anxiety among millions of parents.
Notably, National Assembly Deputy Pham Khanh Phong Lan of the Ho Chi Minh City Delegation did not hesitate to point out the draft law’s most critical flaws, asserting that children should absolutely not be included as eligible donors of tissues and organs.
According to Ms. Pham Khanh Phong Lan’s explanation, even though the draft requires that a donation request be approved in writing by a guardian, this purely procedural formality is entirely insufficient to verify that the decision truly stems from the child’s independent judgment.
Consequently, children under the age of 18 are still considered minors whose cognitive development is not yet fully mature, and they lack the ability to comprehensively assess the long-term consequences for their own bodies.
According to observers, the public’s greatest concern at this time does not lie in the noble humanitarian nature of organ donation to save lives, but rather in the current state of social security and the legal loopholes that exist.
Given that illegal organ trafficking networks are still operating covertly across the country, opening the legal door for minors to participate in organ donation is tantamount to placing them in danger, under the watchful eye of criminal gangs.
According to healthcare experts, no one can guarantee with certainty that strict regulations regarding background checks or guardianship documentation will be sufficient to thwart schemes involving the fabrication of family relationships, the forgery of documents, or the use of money to influence impoverished families.
If unscrupulous individuals exploit children’s naivety and enthusiasm to turn them into a legally sanctioned source of organs on paper, what oversight mechanism within the healthcare system can detect this in time before a body part is permanently lost?
We must acknowledge that the pain felt by families with sick relatives in need of organ transplants is entirely legitimate.
However, the noble goal of saving lives cannot become an excuse to undermine the supreme principle of a rule-of-law state, which is to protect the right to life and physical safety of all children.
Civil law has always established strict mechanisms for representation and guardianship, recognizing that minors lack the capacity to make major decisions regarding their own lives.
According to experts, as long as risk control mechanisms have not been clearly and convincingly demonstrated in practice, any hasty expansion of the scope of the Ministry of Health’s regulations poses incalculable dangers to future generations.
A wrong economic decision can be reversed, but once a child’s body is permanently lost, no compensation mechanism or apology can restore their body to its original state.
Public opinion holds that the Ministry of Health and the legislative drafting bodies must pause, listen to the frank, critical voices from the professional community to establish the most robust protective boundaries—rather than forcing children into an “adventure” that is far beyond their capacity.
Trà My – Thoibao.de
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The Ministry of Health’s Proposal to Amend the Organ Donation Law: Humanitarianism or a Dangerous Line?
“… The Ministry of Health’s proposal to expand organ donation to include individuals under 18 raises concerns about legal loopholes, the risk of exploitation, and the boundaries of child protection.”
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