A ceremony was held in central Da Nang city on August 21 to mark the 20th anniversary of the first blood stem cell transplant (BSCT) in Vietnam, which laid the cornerstone of peripheral and umbilical cord blood stem cell transplants in the country.

The first operation was a bone marrow stem cell transplant conducted at the Blood Transfusion and Haematology Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City in July 1995.

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Nine facilities specialising in BSCT have been established nationwide so far, and they performed 445 BSCT operations, including 185 cases by the HCM City Blood Transfusion and Haematology Hospital.

The hospital’s Director Phu Chi Dung said the success of the BSCT therapy has helped many patients with acute blood diseases to fully recover and return to the normal life. However, these operations in Vietnam still face certain difficulties such as inadequate equipment and high expenses as they are not covered by health insurance.

Addressing the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Xuyen said the study on and application of stem cells have opened up bright prospects of curing patients with acute diseases.

She asked the HCM City Blood Transfusion and Haematology Hospital and the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion to step up the training of high-quality personnel as well as cooperation with other countries to gain experiences in studying and applying stem cells in treatment.

Source: VNA