Thai companies break new ground in stem cell therapy
Thai companies break new ground in stem cell therapy
Superior A.R.T, a Bangkok based fertility clinic, and Thai Stemlife Co. Ltd. recently revealed a breakthrough in stem cell technology and bone marrow transplantation, meaning that patients no longer have to wait for a compatible donor.
Between them, they achieved Asia's first successful pre-implantation genetic selection of a thalassemia-free and sibling HLA matched embryo with subsequent cord blood stem cell collection and curative bone marrow transplantation in a thalassemia diseased sibling, thus eliminating the unnecessary and low-yield wait for a stem cell compatible donor.
Superior A.R.T. and THAI StemLife ann ounced Asia's first success of implementing pre-implantation genetic disease using polymerase chain reaction (PGD-PCR) technology to screen for thalassemia status with HLA matching between siblings, with subsequent cor d blood stem cell collection and curative bone marrow transplantation in a thalassemia diseased sibling.
Somjate Manipalvirat, M.D., Clinical Director, Obstetrician and Gynecologist Reprodcutive Endocrinologist and Infertility Specialist of Superior A.R.T. said “Thalassemia is a hereditary hemolytic disease from carrier parents to their children.”
In Thailand, 10 percent of the newborn babies are affected with thalassemia, and 40 percent of Thai the population are thalassemia carriers, causing the risk of being thalassemia carrier parents in Thailand to be as high as 1 out of 3.
The only cure for pediatric patients is bone marrow transplatntion from thalassemia-free stem cells from HLA matched compatible donors. However, the probability of finding compatible HLA matched stem cell is 1 in 50,000 donors, which is extremely difficult.
With the state-of-the-art technology and a team of experienced specialists at Superior A.R.T., it is now possible to implement Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technology to screen for thalassemia status with HLA matching between siblings.
The subsequent cord blood stem cell collection can be used to treat the Thalassemia diseased sibling in curative bone marrow transplantation, who is now completely cured and Thalassemia free. This is the Asia's first success in treating Thalassemia patients with curative bone marrow transplantation from cord blood stem cell collection, implemented by PGD-PCR technique with HLA Matching, without having to wait for a stem cell compatible donor.
This technology of curing thalassemia offers value for money in comparison with the overall expenses of traditional supportive treatment.”
vientiane times
