Illustrative image (Source: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – The country’s first patient transplanted
with his own , frozen for preservation, to replace stem
cells destroyed by chemotherapy or radiation is well on the way to full
recovery from , local doctors have said.
The by
cryopreservation at -80 Celsius was performed in June at Ho Chi Minh City’s Cho
Ray Hospital on a 50-year-old male who had completed eight chemotherapy cycles,
said Le Phuoc Dam, deputy head of the hospital’s haematology unit.
The patient had been admitted last September and diagnosed with
non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer that originates in the lymphatic system, the
body’s disease-fighting network. He was discharged from hospital three weeks.
According to Doctor Dam, Vietnam mainly uses stem cell
cryopreservation in Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) with concentration of 5 percent
at -196 Celsius. This method requires advanced devices, equipment and long
transplantation time (about 180 minutes) and poses side effects related to
heart beat and blood pressure.
Ten institutes and hospitals have so far performed more than 500
stem cell transplants by cryopreservation at -196 Celsius.
Autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation by
cryopreservation at a higher temperature, -80 Celsius, is a highly effective
therapy for improving the chances of disease-free survival, Dam said at a press
meeting on July 18. He added that it was the best method so far with
preservation time of about five years, low cost of stem cell preservation,
transplant time of about 60 minutes and fewer side effects.
At around 50 million VND (2,200 USD), the procedure costs half
that of transplantation by cryopreservation at -196 Celsius, he said.
Cho Ray Hospital is the first in Vietnam to successfully apply the
method. According to Dr Suzanne Thanh Thanh, deputy head of the hospital’s
haematology unit, this method is not complicated and does not require costly
equipment. The hospital needs a freezer that can be regulated to -80 degrees, a
doctor and two nurses. Central and provincial-level hospitals which have blood
departments can also apply this method.
According to medical experts, blood stem cell transplantation
expands longevity and improves life quality, even curing some diseases. Vietnam
began stem cell transplantation in 1995, Doctor Dam said.
With technical assistance from Japan’s Tsukuba University
Hospital, Cho Ray has applied in the treatment of lymphoma
and multiple myeloma. Since 2013 it has performed 36 stem cell transplants.-VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
