A Pakistani man suffering from a malignant blood disease was given a new life in Shanghai.
At about 10:00 a.m. on April 25, Thaksin, a 30-year-old Pakistani man, successfully completed a hematopoietic stem cell transplant in the sterile laminar flow chamber of the South Hospital of Shanghai First People's Hospital in Songjiang District using cord blood hematopoietic stem cells provided by China Stem Cell Group.
Tacitin suffers from myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS for short), a blood disease in which hematopoietic stem cells proliferate abnormally in the bone marrow of the patient and are unable to form blood cells with normal functions. Since being diagnosed with MDS in 2010, Thaksin has been surviving on blood transfusions for 8 years.
Professor Wang Chun, the attending physician of Thaksin, revealed to the surging news reporter that it is expected that after two weeks, Thaksin will resume normal hematopoietic function and no longer need to use blood transfusions to maintain life.
The success of this transplant set a precedent for the world's first foreign transplant using Chinese cord blood hematopoietic stem cells.
The Pakistani man's family and The staff of the China Stem Cell Group witnessed the world's first case of a foreigner using Chinese cord blood hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Courtesy of Shanghai Cord Blood Bank
After 8 years of blood transfusion to maintain his life, he finally chose to go abroad for medical treatment
Thaksin has a beautiful and intelligent wife and three lovely children, but he was unexpectedly diagnosed with MDS in 2010.
Professor Wang Chun, director of the Department of Hematology of Shanghai First People's Hospital, revealed that in the bone marrow of MDS patients, hematopoietic stem cells have proliferated abnormally and cannot form blood cells with normal functions. On the one hand, these abnormal blood cells cannot be released into the peripheral blood, resulting in a decrease in the number of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets in the peripheral blood, and patients have symptoms such as anemia, bleeding, and infection. On the other hand, the number of these abnormally proliferating stem cells in the bone marrow, the so-called proto-cell will gradually increase, and when a certain proportion is broken, it is possible to eventually transform into acute myeloid leukemia, and its treatment is mainly to solve the two major problems of bone marrow failure and complications, acute myeloid leukemia transformation.
According to Professor Wang Chun, this case is a transplantation method of cord blood combined with peripheral blood, in which the peripheral blood comes from the patient's own brother, and it is precisely because of the addition of cord blood that the rejection response can be reduced and the success rate of treatment can be improved.
Due to the limited medical level in his home country, Mr. Thaksin has been maintaining his life in various ways of blood transfusion for nearly 8 years, and has a history of severe blood transfusion dependence, and the further deterioration of his condition has given him the idea of going abroad for medical treatment.
Since China proposed the Belt and Road Initiative, Pakistan has been one of the countries that have benefited the most, and the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has provided convenient conditions for Pakistan to enhance its development in transportation, economy, medical care and other aspects. Out of a friendly impression and trust in China, Mr. Tasin chose to come to China for medical treatment.
After many understandings, he learned that the hematology team of Shanghai First People's Hospital led by Wang Chun has rich clinical experience in the diagnosis and treatment of difficult cases of blood tumors and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, especially MDS treatment, and its level is in the leading position in China, so he came here for treatment.
After fully understanding Mr. Thaksin's medical history and condition, the attending physician Professor Wang Chun decided to adopt the treatment plan of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and issued a matching application to the China Bone Marrow Bank and 7 umbilical cord blood hematopoietic stem cell banks in the first time, and finally only the Shanghai Cord Blood Hematopoietic Stem Cell Bank under the construction and management of China Stem Cell Group was matched with cord blood hematopoietic stem cells that could be transplanted.
At 8:00 a.m. on April 25, the staff of China Stem Cell Group set off from the Shanghai Cord Blood Bank to send the cord blood to the South Branch of Shanghai First People's Hospital. Courtesy of Shanghai Cord Blood Bank
The five-year survival rate of patients with transplantation has reached the international advanced level
At 10 o'clock on April 25, the staff of Shanghai Cord Blood Hematopoietic Stem Cell Bank sent the "seed of life" used for transplantation to Shanghai First People's Hospital early, which was collected and stored in the Tongren Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in 2010.
After information verification and stem cell resuscitation, the cord blood hematopoietic stem cells were slowly injected into Mr. Thaksin's body, and the world's first patient in an exceptional country successfully completed the transplant using Chinese cord blood hematopoietic stem cells.
Statistics show that since its establishment 14 years ago, China Stem Cell Group has completed more than 3,200 clinical transplants of cord blood, ranking first in the country. Among the patients receiving transplantation, 79.55% weighed more than 30 kilograms, 60.09% were over 18 years old, and the survival rate of patients in the five years after transplantation was as high as 58.9%, reaching the international advanced level.
At present, with the support of the policies of the State Council, in Boao, Hainan, China Stem Cell Group has built the first stem cell hospital in China - China Stem Cell Group Hainan Boao Affiliated Stem Cell Hospital and Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine Affiliated Tongren Hospital Boao Branch. The hospital plans to have 100 hundred-level laminar flow cabins, which can complete more than 1,000 cases of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation every year, which will alleviate the shortage of transplant resources for domestic leukemia patients, effectively improve the professional medical level and hardware equipment of China's stem cell industry, and benefit more patients with blood diseases and immune system diseases at home and abroad.