UAE to fund stem-cell treatment for critical COVID-19 cases

The UAE will bear the cost of treating critical COVID-19 cases that use the breakthrough stem-cell treatment.

The initiative ordered by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, comes after the Abu Dhabi Stem Cell Center (ADSCC) developed an innovative treatment for COVID-19 using stem cells.

It involves extracting stem cells from the patient’s own blood and reintroducing them after activating them. 

So far, 73 patients have successfully recovered after using the new method.

It will continue to be administered along with conventional medical intervention rather than as a replacement.

The ADSCC says the new therapy is a supportive treatment that enables coronavirus patients to overcome the symptoms of the virus, but it does not kill the virus on its own.

It is understood to have therapeutic effect by regenerating lung cells and modulating the immune response to keep it from overreacting to COVID-19 infection and causing further damage to healthy cells.