Vietnam succeeds in first peripheral blood stem cells transplant
The HCM City Hospital of Hematology and Blood Transfusion has become the first hospital in Vietnam to successfully conduct the transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells from peripheral blood.
The HCM City Hospital of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (announces to be the first hospital in Vietnam successfully conducting the transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells from peripheral blood during a press conference. (Photo: baotintuc.vn)
HCM City (VNA) – The HCM CityHospital of Hematology and Blood Transfusion has become the first hospital inVietnam to successfully conduct the transplantation of hematopoietic stem cellsfrom peripheral blood. In May, the hospital received a 25-year-oldfemale patient from the southern province of Ca Mau, who had suffered from juvenilemyelomonocytic leukaemia (JMML), a rare blood disorder that occurs in youngpeople, according to the hospital’s director Phu Chi Dung. The only effectivetreatment for her would be the transplant of hematopoietic stem cells, he said at a press conferenceon November 16. The hospital was not able to find a related donorthat has the HLA (Human leukocyte antigen) matching the patient, so itcontacted the Tzu Chi Stem Cells Centre in Taiwan (China) to seek a compatiblecandidate. The centre found a compatible one in July and two months later, thehospital performed the transplant. The recipient is now on her 57th day afterthe transplantation and she is in a good condition, Dung noted. He added that the success marked a medicalbreakthrough in Vietnam, giving a new hope to local cancer patients unable tofind a compatible related donor. In Vietnam, each stem cell transplantsurgery costs about 800 million VND, or 35,200 USD, 60 percent of which can becovered by health insurance. The cost only accounts for one-tenth of that inSingapore and one-fifth in Taiwan.-VNA
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After more than three weeks of intensive treatment, the patient's pneumonia improved, breathing stabilised, sedation was reduced, and the breathing tube was removed. He is now conscious, able to eat orally, and in recovery.
The HCM City Hospital of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (announces to be the first hospital in Vietnam successfully conducting the transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells from peripheral blood during a press conference. (Photo: baotintuc.vn) 
