Stem cell transplant in Vietnam has saved thousands of lives, especially
those with blood-related diseases, but despite its great potential and vast
demand, the supply of stem cells is still relatively low.
Huge storage facility for stem cells
The MekoStem bank under the
management of Mekophar Chemical Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company came into
operation in February 2009 at a cost of VND10 billion (approx. US$479,390),
funded mainly by the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Being the first stem cell bank in
Vietnam, it is collaborating with related organizations such as the Vietnam
Military Medical University, the National Institute of Hematology and Blood
Transfusion, Tu Du Hospital, the Vietnam National Institute of Burns, and the
Institute of Biotechnology to build a bank for stem cells extracted from
umbilical cords.
Taking advantage of a modern
method called ‘cell isolation technology’, which was delivered by Cell Research
Corporation in Singapore to preserve and store stem cells (both cord blood and
cover), the bank is trying its best to help other hospitals cure blood-related
diseases.
Thanks to its vast storage
facility and high-tech methods, MekoStem can now process around five to ten
umbilical cords per day and accumulate tens of thousands of samples.
Similarly, the stem cell bank of
the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital of Hematology and Blood Transfusion came into
operation in 2004 after five years of construction. Besides storing cells from
umbilical cords, it can also stock stem cells from blood and bones as well as
culture new cells from mesenchymal tissues, which is another first in Vietnam.
At the moment, this bank has around 3,000 samples of stem cells, most of which
came from donors.
Lately, board members of the
Saigon Hi-tech Park, located in District 9 of HCMC, approved a construction
project for an Institute of Biotechnology, at an investment cost of $11 million
from Vietnam Mamprotech Company. Upon completion, this institute will conduct
research and manufacture biomedical products such as protein and diagnosis kits
using cell technology.
According to Tran Trung Dung,
head of the Stem Cell Bank under the HCMC Hospital of Hematology and Blood
Transfusion, once all treatment methods become ineffective, stem cell
transplant is the last yet very effective resolution. Thanks to
state-of-the-art technology that we possess, it is possible to store stem cells
for as long as 18 years, said Trung.
More stem cell donors needed
As stated by Dr. Le Van Dong,
deputy head of the Immunology Department of the Vietnam Military Medical
University, in the case of a patient with spinal cord injury, cirrhosis,
blood-related diseases, tumors, coronary thrombosis, diabetes, stroke, or
Parkinson’s disease, stem cell transplant is the ideal answer.
Up till March 2012, the National
Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion had already performed stem cell
transplant on 44 cases. The success rate for multiple myeloma and bone marrow
are 70 percent and 75 percent respectively. After six years of treatment, some
patients still lead a normal life, which is quite an impressive result.
Despite its usefulness, stem
cells are not getting adequate attention from the public. In three years,
MekoStem has received only 600 requests from healthy people to store stem cells
for future use and have collected 300 samples from donors.
Statistics show that out of ten
thousand samples of stem cells, there are only a few compatible ones that can
be used. The compatible rate between parents and children is merely 50 percent,
and between siblings is 25 to 100 percent.
“The more stem cell samples we
can get from donors, the more successful we will be in curing patients,” said
Pham Van Phuc of the Laboratory for Research and Application of Stem Cells
(under the management of the HCMC University of Science).
The biggest obstacle, according
to Phuc, is finance. It costs about $2,000 to analyze, process, and then store
stem cells in the first year and then $150 per year for the following years,
making the total fee of $5,000 for 18 years.
However, this price is still
quite cheap, only VND15,000 per day ($0.72), for the magical benefits of
results gotten from stem cells.
Tuong Han – Translated by Uyen
Phuong
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