| Hakim Hayat |
JERUDONG Park Medical Centre (JPMC) will be the first hospital in Brunei to provide comprehensive cord blood and tissue stem cell banking, following a collaborative partnership signed yesterday with Malaysian firm, StemLife Berhad.
The partnership will allow Bruneian parents to store the cord blood and tissue of their newborn infant, for potentially a lifetime.
The procedure, which is gaining popularity worldwide, involves the collection of blood from a newborn’s umbilical cord, which contains powerful stem cells that can be used to regenerate healthy blood and immune systems for the child or immediate relatives.
At a press conference following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between JPMC and StemLife Berhad, Dr Chitra Karat, the Head and Consultant of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department and Reproductive Medicine Unit at JPMC, explained that stored cord blood and tissue can be used to treat certain types of cancer such as leukaemia, which would require chemotherapy and radiotherapy that destroys normal cells. “These stored stem cells scan be used and put back in the bone marrow and produce similar cells for regenerative purposes,” she said.
She said that ongoing research is being done on other types of cancer that can benefit from early stem cell collection, adding that this procedure has to be done immediately after birth, as the cord blood and stem cells are biologically younger and are more flexible, which offers a lesser risk of complications when used during transplants.
Signing ceremony of Memorandum of Understanding between JPMC and StemLife Berhad for stem cell banking services in Brunei Darussalam. – JERUDONG PARK MEDICAL CENTRE
Dr Chitra Karat, the Head and Consultant of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department and Reproductive Medicine Unit at Jerudong Park Medical Centre (2R) speaking at the press conference yesterday. – BAHYIAH BAKIR
Sophian Abdul Rahman, CEO of StemLife Berhad, told the assembled media that regenerative powers that reside within stem cells are very potent, as “they are the most naive cells that become cells of your skin, blood cells, heart cells and lining cells among others.”
He added that the collaboration with JPMC was intended to promote awareness in Brunei on the benefits of the procedure, which has benefited thousands of people in Malaysia and elsewhere, around the world.
Sophian also mentioned that maintaining reasonable and flexible prices is very important to their firm, allowing even the average income earner to obtain the services.
Dr Joel Isaiah, the Head and Senior Consultant of the Paediatrics Department at JPMC, said that the procedure has been thriving in many advanced countries, and is beneficial for treatment of rare diseases in the future.
“Sometimes when treatment fails, we can use this to generate new cells,” he said.
The MoU was signed by Dato Paduka Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar, the Executive Director and Medical Director of JPMC; and the CEO of StemLife Berhad, in the presence of senior management and staff from both agencies.
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