The hospital’s social work department gave the 26-year-old a list of patients from disadvantaged backgrounds. Most of their families had brought them from remote areas to Hanoi for treatment.

Some of their parents were illiterate and a few were ethnic minorities who could not even speak Vietnamese.

One family with an income of just VND3 million a month had to pay for food and a place to stay, and had borrowed the entire money needed.

The hospital was also caring for an abandoned newborn who, after a health check, would be sent to an orphanage. Trang decided to pay the hospital fees of VND3 million each for 10 children.

“This may be the most meaningful thing I have ever done,” she says.

Trang said she was inspired by a social media trend that went viral in early August, got her savings, went to the hospital, and was taken to the social work department. There she was told about the various ways she could contribute to patients such as giving gifts, donating cash or directly paying the hospital fees for those in need.

“Paying hospital fees is the most direct and effective way to support them,” she says.

That day she also met some of the patients in person, and they were moved to tears by her kindness.

Paying hospital bills for strangers is not a new form of charity, but has become a trend on social media since TikToker Luong Do, with 700,000 followers, posted a video of himself helping a family in HCMC’s Children’s Hospital 2.

Their child had been diagnosed with congenital heart disease, got a bill of VND11 million after insurance, but was VND4 million short, which he paid.

After his post, many other TikTokers, mostly Gen Zers, emulated him.

“The number of people coming to the hospital to pay medical fees for strangers rose by nearly 20% in the first few days of August,” Nguyen Thi Thuy, deputy head of the hospital’s social work department, says.

She says the hospital’s social work department handles all donations to ensure it reaches the right people, is used for the intended purpose and remains financially transparent.

The Mastercard Ethical Spending and Charitable Giving survey ranked Vietnam first in the Asia-Pacific region, with 78.5% of the population contributing to charity and young people making a notable share of donations.

Duong Anh Thien, 33, of HCMC, says he was inspired by his mother, a social worker at Gia Lai Hospital.

He first paid hospital fees for a stranger in 2018. He had started with VND1 million, but as his finances improved, his donations increased, often to tens of millions of dong for a single patient. Thien often visits the hospital’s social work department to look for patients in need.

In the case of emergencies, he meets the patient’s children and family in person. Some people have to depend on high-interest loans to pay for treatment, he says.

Children’s Hospital 2 in HCMC says its social work department helps connect donors with patients and safeguard the public from scams. The donation process starts when the hospital receives a request for help. Its staff verify the patient’s information by reviewing medical records, performing a background check, assessing treatment status, and obtaining confirmation from local authorities or the department where the child is being treated.

The department then matches donors with them depending on several factors, and the money is transferred directly to the family. Once completed, the department sends follow-up reports, thank-you letters, photos, and financial usage reports at the donor’s request.

“People have been covering hospital fees for strangers for generations,” Thien says. “I hope more people will do this and keep the movement growing.”