Hanoi, April 3 (VNA)- The first non-relative umbilical cord blood transplant was successfully conducted in Vietnam, announced the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) under the Ministry of Health on April 2.
The transplant took place on December 30, 2014 for Hoang Thi Thuy Linh, a 28-year-old from central Quang Binh province suffering from acute leukemia. After three months of transplantation, she has recovered and the umbilical cord blood cells are growing stably.
The transplant cost nearly 1 billion VND (46,500 USD), 50 percent of which was paid for by insurance. The NIHBT provided free umbilical cord blood stem cells worth 300 million VND (13,950 USD).
NIHBT Deputy Director PhD Bach Quoc Khanh said that transplant will help lengthen Linh’s life, highlighting that this measure offers hope to patients with blood disorders.
Vietnam’s first cord blood stem cell bank was opened by the NIHBT in May 2014 to gather and store donations of umbilical cords for the purpose of treating blood disorders for people in need.
Since then, the bank has stored nearly 1,000 samples of stem cells. Other than umbilical cords, stem cells can be extracted from bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cells.
The transplant took place on December 30, 2014 for Hoang Thi Thuy Linh, a 28-year-old from central Quang Binh province suffering from acute leukemia. After three months of transplantation, she has recovered and the umbilical cord blood cells are growing stably.
The transplant cost nearly 1 billion VND (46,500 USD), 50 percent of which was paid for by insurance. The NIHBT provided free umbilical cord blood stem cells worth 300 million VND (13,950 USD).
NIHBT Deputy Director PhD Bach Quoc Khanh said that transplant will help lengthen Linh’s life, highlighting that this measure offers hope to patients with blood disorders.
Vietnam’s first cord blood stem cell bank was opened by the NIHBT in May 2014 to gather and store donations of umbilical cords for the purpose of treating blood disorders for people in need.
Since then, the bank has stored nearly 1,000 samples of stem cells. Other than umbilical cords, stem cells can be extracted from bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cells.
VNA/VNP
