http://www.granma.cu/ingles/cuba-i/18ener-Transplants.html
Havana. January 18, 2013
Center for Cellular Engineering, Organ and Tissue Transplants inaugurated
THE Center for Cellular Engineering, Organ and Tissue Transplants
(CICEL), which will contribute to the improvement of the country’s national
organ transplant program, was inaugurated January 15 in Havana, on the occasion
of Cuban Science Day.
Dr. Alexander Mármol, head of the Transplant Department within the
Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP), announced that the center will function as
part of the Institute of Hematology and Immunology (IHH), and conduct
compatibility studies for all human transplants, predominately of bone marrow
and kidneys.
Equipped with the latest technology and highly trained personnel, the
Center’s laboratories have begun their work using molecular biological
techniques which allow for the determination of compatibility between the
tissues of transplant recipients and potential donors.
With the capacity to conduct 40 to 60 tests a week, CICEL’s genetic
studies should contribute to lowering the number of transplant rejections and
infections, as well as improving the survival rate and quality of life of
patients, Dr. Mármol said.
Dr. José M. Ballester, IHH director, reported that the laboratory will
also conduct genetic studies to identify serious blood pathologies such as
lymphoma, leukemia or immunodeficiency, to clarify diagnoses and treatment.
In addition to its medical contribution, the Center will allow for
significant savings, since such tests need not be conducted abroad at a higher
cost, he commented.
Dr. Mármol, also the director of MINSAP’s National Kidney Transplant
Program, explained that the first tests were conducted with dialysis patients
waiting for kidney transplants.
The National Nephrology Institute is responsible for delivering blood
samples to the national laboratory, which began its first ‘typings’ – as
professionals describe the process – in Havana and will extend the service
throughout the rest of the country, to ensure that all those waiting for kidney
transplants have a compatibility profile.
Dr. Mármol reported that currently there are 2,845 dialysis patients in
the country and that, among these, some 1,200 are good candidates for a
transplant and will be offered compatibility tests.
Ongoing dialysis is much more expensive than a transplant, according to
studies undertaken in Cuba, where the cost of this procedure averages
approximately $20,000 a year, per patient.
The doctor therefore emphasized that a transplant is the best approach,
since patients recover quickly and do not continue to depend on a machine,
visiting dialysis centers every other day.
Studies in more developed countries indicate that it is four times more
economical to provide a kidney transplant than to maintain a patient on
dialysis, according to Dr. Mármol.
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