Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Center performs 100 bone marrow transplants

Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Center (ADSCC) has performed 100 bone marrow transplants, also known as hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, since the launch of its Abu Dhabi Bone Marrow Transplant Program (AD-BMT).

ADSCC performed the UAE’s first bone marrow transplantation for a patient with multiple myeloma in 2020, and the Middle East’s first bone marrow transplant for a patient with multiple sclerosis in 2022.

ADSCC also carried out the first UAE bone marrow transplant for a patient with thalassemia in 2023, and the first UAE’s transplant for a three-month old baby with Krabbe disease (a rare genetic disorder).

Also in 2023, the centre manufactured the first CAR-T Cell Therapy in the UAE and the Middle East, launching the technology locally to eliminate the need to travel abroad for complex care.

.@adsccae has performed 100 bone marrow transplants since launching its Abu Dhabi Bone Marrow Transplant Program. ADSCC, a @DoHSocial accredited Center of Excellence, offers life-saving treatments to patients with different types of blood cancers, genetic and autoimmune diseases. pic.twitter.com/TZsqovBIQN

— مكتب أبوظبي الإعلامي (@ADMediaOffice) July 24, 2024

Professor Yendry Ventura, Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Center and Adjunct Professor at United Arab Emirates University, said: “We’ve introduced bone marrow transplantation and cellular therapy in the UAE few years ago, providing care for the most critically ill patients in the country and the region. Building on the programme’s success and increased demand, ADSCC launched CAR-T Cell Therapy, offering patients a wider spectrum of innovative care.

"We are proud to be among the few centres in the region offering this highly advanced level of care, capable of treating many patients with life-threatening diseases and eliminating their need to travel abroad for care."

In 24 months, ADSCC performed over 70 autologous and allogenic bone marrow transplants at its comprehensive hospital in Abu Dhabi for patients with leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma, and more than 20 for patients with multiple sclerosis, Krabbe diseases, thalassemia and other genetic diseases. Out of the 100, almost 20 were children as young as three months old to 18 years old.