Under the auspices of HE Dr. Bandar Al Knawy, Chief Executive Officer, NGHA, the Transplant Program of bone marrow and stem cells at King Abdul Aziz Medical City in Riyadh was launched on Wednesday, March 17, 2010.
This is one of the highly significant projects added to the NGHA organization. Preparation of this project began almost two years ago by a team from the Department of pathology and leukemia (blood cancer) at King Abdul Aziz Medical City as well as other engaged foreign experts who have periodic visits to the Center.
A special laboratory was set up to deal with stem cells with the latest equipment and highly qualified technician to manage the Laboratory; also two rooms in the hematology and oncology ward were allocated for adults and in blood diseases and children tumors wards as a start of the program. Work is underway to create a special ward for the cultivation of bone marrow and stem cells with 25 room capacity in the blood tumors Center.
Employees have also been sent for training outside the Kingdom and have held training sessions at the center for all workers within the program. The program is based upon the development of rules and regulations for transplantation and patient care based on specialized global specifications.
It is known that stem cells are primitive cells with the ability to reproduce and develop to produce red and white blood cells. Stem cells can be derived from blood or bone marrow or umbilical cord blood.
Stem cell transplantation is an extremely complex and sensitive process that requires a high level of expertise and accuracy and it is an effective treatment for many blood disorders, cancerous tumors and lymph nodes. The process will vary according to stem cell transplantation. There is the assembly of source cells which are then cultured, as well as self-derived cells from the patient himself. These cultured cells are injected again after the patient has gone through a massive dose of chemotherapy to eradicate the disease. The other method is culture from a stem cell donor that is compatible with the patients’ tissue: most donors are either a brother or sister.
There are different types of stem cell transplantation in terms of effectiveness according to the disease and chemotherapy of the patient and the severity of the operation. In terms of the donor the process is almost risk free; stem cells are extracted through a device that resembles a dialysis machine or blood plate's donation.
The NGHA has recently successfully extracted stem cells from two patients and was able to perform two self-cultured cases successfully in KAMC - Riyadh.