DOHA: With its operations in Qatar set to start soon, Virgin Health Bank-QSTP has demonstrated their commitment to providing high quality ethical cord blood banking to families here by conducting the first major training programme for health professionals here.
A team of obstetricians, midwives, nurses and technicians from Al Ahli Hospital were the first in Qatar to benefit from VHB's innovative training programme.
The week long programme was designed to ensure that patients in Qatar will have access to information on cord blood banking and be able to take advantage of the bank's high quality cord blood banking services as an integrated part of their maternity care.
The specially designed training course featured contributions from eminent British experts including Marc Turner, Professor of Cellular Therapy at Edinburgh University and Terie Duffy, Head of Cord Blood Collection at the Antony Nolan Trust, a leading charity that pioneered the creation of bone marrow cord blood registries in the United Kingdom.
Stem cells are obtained from cord blood collected just after a baby is born and the umbilical cord is clamped and cut. It is a straightforward and safe procedure that has no impact on the mother or the new born. After collection, the cord blood is transferred to a processing centre in the UK where it undergoes tests for cell number and viability before being cryo-preserved at -196 degree Celsius.
Stem cells can be used to cure a variety of diseases including Beta Thalassaemia and Sickle Cell Anaemia and as part of the treatment plan for diseases like Leucaemia.
However, for the majority of conditions, a tissue typed match, which may come from within a family, will be required rather than the patient's own stem cells.
In anticipation of the future development of treatment, particularly in the area of regenerative medicine, increasing numbers of parents around the world are choosing to store their children's stem cells.
In the Middle East, the lack of availability of bone marrow-derived stem cells means that cord blood banking programmes are vitally important for the residents of the region and for the treatment of many conditions like the prevalent Beta Thalassaemia.
"We moved to Qatar to develop high quality, ethical cord blood banking programmes both here and in the wider Gulf Area," said Dr Magnus Nicolson, Chief Operating Officer, VHB-QSTP.
"This is an exciting and ambitious project that recognises the very real clinical need for cord blood stem cell banking in this region. By working with the hospital, we know that we will be able to provide the highest quality of cord blood banking for families in Qatar. We are confident that in collaboration with Qatar's health care providers and health authorities, we will see cord blood banking delivering significant benefits to children within three to five years."
© The Peninsula 2009
