After many years of preparation, the Da Nang Hospital successfully performed an autologous stem cell transplant for the first time, opening a wide door of a new treatment approach, and a new hope for patients with malignant diseases, in Central Viet Nam.

Doctors at the Da Nang Hospital have successfully performed an autologous stem cell transplant for the first time. Photo courtesy of the hospital.

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 the Da Nang Hospital as she suffered from severe anemia and osteoarthritis.

The woman 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.

The Da Nang Hospital teamed up with doctors and experts from the Hanoi-based National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion to evaluate her health condition and map out a plan to transplant bone marrow using the autologous therapy.

After transplantation, the patient continues to be closely monitored and under intensive care in a sterile area. Currently, the patient's health condition is stable, and she can eat and walk normally and can be discharged from the hospital.

It is known that, since 2019, the hospital has sent doctors from its Departments of Neurology, Musculoskeletal, and Clinical Hematology to the national institute for training on the autologous stem cell transplant method.

Dr Tran Thi Thanh Huong from the Department of Neurology, Musculoskeletal and Clinical Hematology, who directly performed autologous stem cell transplant, said that stem cells are special cells with the ability to self-renewal and differentiate into different types of cells with different functions in the body.

Types of stem cells can help replenish, replace, and repair old, weak or damaged cells, with many different types of stem cells. Patients are required to undergo four or five courses of chemotherapy before the transplantation. After their health conditions get better, doctors start to separate stem cells and injected them back into patients’ body via a vein.

“In order to perform a successful transplant, in addition to careful preparation of transferred techniques, equipment and machinery, there needs to be a smooth and synchronous coordination of departments such as Neurology-Musculoskeletal-Clinical Hematology, Infection Control, Nutrition, Pharmacy, Active Resuscitation - Anti-poison, and Diagnostic Imaging", Dr Huong said.

According to Dr. Le Duc Nhan, Director of the Da Nang Hospital, an autologous stem cell transplant uses healthy blood stem cells from patients’ own bodies to replace their diseased or damaged bone marrow.

Stem cells support and help quickly restore the hematopoietic system of patients after high-dose chemotherapy, in order to prevent life-threatening complications. Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is indicated for the treatment of leukemia, myeloproliferative syndrome, multiple myeloma, leukemia, and testicular cancer.

He noted that the success in the first autologous stem cell transplantation was a great step forward in treatment, demonstrating the expertise of the hospital’s doctors who have mastered specialised techniques, thereby opening up new hopes for patients with malignant diseases.

Mr. Truong Van Trinh, Deputy Director of the Da Nang Department of Health, emphasised that the success of 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. This is an important premise to develop and widely apply this technique, hereby helping patients in Central Viet Nam to save travel time and treatment costs in other places.

Furthermore, the construction of the Organ and Stem Cell Transplantation Centre at the Da Nang General Hospital will help patients have better access to treatment services, minimising risks and adverse impacts on their health, he added.

Reporting by PHAN CHUNG - Translating by M.DUNG