A father in Yen Bai Province is in need of help to treat his son who is suffering from thalassemia after losing three other sons.

Le Van Dung from Hoa Binh Village is a veteran and had seven children but three of them had died. Most of Dung's sons had some kind of illness. One of them didn't have an anus, the other two had hydrocephalus or leg deformities.

Even two of his surviving children also have mental illness and thalassemia. The other two are healthy but they are really poor.

Le Van Dung

"They keep leaving me. One has skin inflammation and mental illness. He often holds a knife and chases people around whenever he has a fit. One of my youngest children, Le Quoc Phong, has thalassemia and his condition has turned for the worst so I'm worried," he said.

Phong's health has got so weak that he can hardly walk. Phong said he was not afraid to die, but he's concerned about his father. Phong said, "My father has suffered a lot after the death of my brothers. I don't know whether he can bear this pain if I die."

Dung and his son in hospital

Dr. Vu Hai Toan from the National Institute of Haematology & Blood Transfusion in Hanoi said because of poverty, Phong didn't go to hospital until his health worsened. That's why he now has heart and liver failure. Doctors are trying their best to prolong his life.

Toan said, "When Phong sleeps, his father would sit in a corner and cry. He's a kind man. Whenever he was given gifts and donations, he would distribute some to other patients in the room."