Da Nang Hospital in the namesake city in central Vietnam conducted an autologous stem cell transplant for the first time, opening a wide door of a new treatment approach in the central region.

The hospital on Monday announced its success in the autologous stem cell transplantation, thanks to the technical transfer from the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion in Hanoi.

This approach means cells are taken from another patient and then transplanted into this patient.

The patient receiving the transplantation is identified as Le Thi C., 57, a resident of Que Son District in Quang Nam Province, a neighbor of Da Nang.

She was admitted to Da Nang Hospital as she suffered from severe anemia and osteoarthritis. 

C. had the tumor in her back removed at the department of neurosurgery, while her samples were sent for a biopsy.

As a result, she was diagnosed with myeloma at the third stage, so she would undergo chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation.

Da Nang Hospital teamed up with the national institute to evaluate her health condition and map out a plan to transplant bone marrow using the autologous therapy.

The patient underwent four or five courses of chemotherapy before the transplantation.

After her health condition got better, doctors started to separate her stem cells and injected them back into her body via a vein.

Given the treatment period and results, the national institute assessed the case as a success. 

Dr. Le Duc Nhan, director of Da Nang Hospital, said that in the 2019-20 period, the hospital sent doctors from its departments of neurology, musculoskeletal, and clinical hematology to the national institute for training on the approach.

“Due to their efforts in learning, a team of over 30 medical workers at the hospital have successfully performed a bone marrow transplant using autologous stem cells,” Dr. Nhan said.

With the success, many patients suffering from malignant diseases will be saved with the approach, he added.

Truong Van Trinh, deputy director of the Da Nang Department of Health, said the transfer of the autologous treatment method from the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion to Da Nang Hospital was part of the city’s professional healthcare center development program.

Trinh said that the success in the first autologous stem cell transplantation opened a new chapter for the growth of in-depth medical treatment at the hospital, and acted as a stepping stone to the next professional approach.

Da Nang Hospital annually receives and treats some 30 patients diagnosed with myeloma.

The number of patients in need of stem cell transplantation is on the rise, so the city allowed the hospital to build an organ and stem cell transplant center.

The center is slated for completion this year.

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