Patients surprised about the cost of stem cell transplant to treat malignant blood diseases

Many patients have the opportunity to receive stem cell transplants.

The Hematology and Blood Transfusion Scientific Conference was held today, October 17, by the Hematology and Blood Transfusion Center, Bach Mai Hospital (Hanoi), marking the 20th anniversary of the center's establishment. At the conference, reports shared the results of stem cell research and application and the prospects of applying gene therapy in the treatment of hematological diseases.

Bệnh nhân bất ngờ về chi phí ghép tế bào gốc điều trị bệnh máu ác tính- Ảnh 1. — The Center for Hematology and Blood Transfusion, Bach Mai Hospital will participate in research on the application of cell therapy in treatment.

At the workshop, Associate Professor - Doctor Nguyen Tuan Tung, Deputy Director of Bach Mai Hospital, Director of the Hematology and Blood Transfusion Center, said that after 12 years of performing stem cell transplants to treat malignant blood diseases, 125 patients at the center have been treated with this method, with a high success rate.

Stem cell transplantation was implemented at Bach Mai Hospital in 2012, when not many facilities in the country applied this method, but the demand for treatment by this method was very high. In 2009-2010, domestic patients had to spend 8 billion VND to go abroad for stem cell transplantation to treat malignant blood diseases.

At the Hematology and Blood Transfusion Center, the transplant process has been mastered and treatment is routine. Up to now, the most modern transplant methods in the world have been applied at the center, including 2 consecutive transplants, allogeneic transplants, autologous transplants, etc.

Many transplant patients have returned to normal life with good quality, studying and working normally; many patients who received stem cell transplants from the early days of the center's implementation are still completely healthy. One of the patients who received stem cell transplants more than 10 years ago was a 21-year-old male patient. After the transplant, the patient was in good health, got married and had a healthy child.

According to Associate Professor Tung, stem cell transplantation in Vietnam is not only a treatment method, but also helps Vietnamese patients receive high-tech treatment at a very low cost. There are patients who have had stem cell transplantation and only paid 41 million VND, after being covered by health insurance. The low cost has surprised many patients. Meanwhile, the cost abroad is currently from 2.5 to 6 billion VND/case, depending on the country.

Gene therapy in disease treatment

According to Associate Professor Tung, hematological diseases are a group of disorders that affect the blood, bone marrow, hematopoietic system and related organs such as the spleen and lymphatic system, divided into two main groups: benign diseases and malignant diseases.

Hematological diseases have many different causes, including genetic factors (many diseases such as thalassemia and hemophilia are caused by genetic mutations passed from parent to child).

The disease also has environmental factors, in which exposure to toxic chemicals, radiation... can lead to diseases such as leukemia or other cancers.

Some hematologic disorders are associated with chronic infections or viruses such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which is associated with lymphoma.

Associate Professor Tung said that gene therapy is a breakthrough in modern medicine to change or adjust genetic material (DNA or RNA) inside the body to treat or prevent diseases.

This is a new treatment for complex diseases, especially genetic diseases, cancer and immune disorders. Long-term treatment is possible with some methods of integrating genes into the cell's genome. The changes can last a lifetime, minimizing the need for ongoing treatment.

The Center for Hematology and Blood Transfusion is preparing human resources and equipment to deploy research on gene therapy applications in the treatment of hematological diseases.

The Hematology and Blood Transfusion Center, Bach Mai Hospital currently has a scale of 130 beds, high-quality human resources, deploys many modern testing techniques, and advanced diagnostic and treatment methods that are the leading in the country and region, which only a few centers in the country can perform.

Bệnh nhân bất ngờ về chi phí ghép tế bào gốc điều trị bệnh máu ác tính- Ảnh 2. — Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan (second from right) congratulated the Center for Hematology and Blood Transfusion for its many achievements in treatment and performing modern, specialized tests.

The center has achieved and maintained ISO 15189 certification in the entire testing system; organized testing and blood distribution for treatment, and has not had a blood shortage for many years.

Hematology and blood transfusion is one of the difficult specialties, with serious and complicated diseases, but there are always good opportunities to become a pioneer in applying advances in science and technology.

The Hematology and Blood Transfusion Center will soon develop and apply advanced, specialized techniques, approaching services in developed countries around the world: using therapeutic cell therapy, new targeted drugs, stem cell transplantation to treat autoimmune diseases; deploying specialized genetic and molecular biology testing techniques and applying artificial intelligence in hematology testing...

Many patients have the opportunity to receive stem cell transplants.

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