1 milion stem-cell transplants
Summary
The Worldwide Network for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (WBMT) has announced recently this milestone which was reached by the end of 2012. The WBMT is a non profit scientific organization with the mission to promote excellence in stem cell transplantation, stem cell donation and cellular therapy.
"One million transplants is a number that can surprise a lot of people, for stem cell transplantation was seen as an uncommon procedure until the end of the 20th century", said Prof. Niederwieser, WBMT president, who collaborates with the José Carreras Foundation in Germany and is a haematologist at the Leipzig University Hospital in Germany. "Thanks to the fundamental discoveries and the exemplar cooperation of many scientists and doctors over the world, the technic in this type of transplants has been improved spectacularly over the last years"
In Spain, the first bone marrow transplant was undergone by Prof. Ciril Rozman at Hospital Clínic in Barcelona, one of the most relevant figures in Internal Medicine.
At the end of 1960, because the knowledge of histocompatibility needs between patients and donors evolved, allogeneic transplants were already being performed successfully. The first allogeneic transplants were performed with a compatible sibling's stem cells. In 1971, the first successful transplant between two non-related people was performed.
Today, more than 70 malignant diseases are typically treated with a stem cell transplant, especially leukaemia and lymphoma patients.
Non-evolved people stem cells can emanate from bone marrow, peripheral blood and umbilical cord blood.
One of the innovative applications at the Karolinska Institute has focused, for 10 years, in the Brittle Bones Disease treatment in sick babies fetus. This disease affects one of every 25.000 people and it´s expected that these stem cells, with their capacity to become bones, cartilage and muscle, reduce baby bones fragility.
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