Abu Dhabi's ADSCC Celebrates 100 Bone Marrow Transplants, Enhancing Life-Saving Treatments

The Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Centre (ADSCC) has successfully completed 100 bone marrow transplants since the inception of its Abu Dhabi Bone Marrow Transplant Programme (AD-BMT). This milestone underscores ADSCC’s pivotal role in providing life-saving treatments for blood cancers, genetic disorders like thalassemia and Krabbe disease, and autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

In 2020, ADSCC performed the UAE’s first bone marrow transplant for a multiple myeloma patient. By 2022, they achieved the Middle East’s first transplant for a multiple sclerosis patient. In 2023, they conducted the UAE’s first transplants for a thalassemia patient and a three-month-old baby with Krabbe disease. Additionally, ADSCC introduced CAR-T Cell Therapy in the UAE and the Middle East in 2023, eliminating the need for patients to seek this treatment abroad.

Professor Yendry Ventura, CEO of ADSCC and Adjunct Professor at United Arab Emirates University, stated, "Guided by the UAE’s visionary leadership and aligned with the national agenda, we’ve introduced bone marrow transplantation and cellular therapy in the UAE a few years ago, providing care for the most critically ill patients in the country and the region. Building on the programme’s success and increased demand, ADSCC launched CAR-T Cell Therapy, offering patients a wider spectrum of innovative care. We are proud to be among the few centres in the region offering this highly advanced level of care, capable of treating many patients with life-threatening diseases and eliminating their need to travel abroad for care. With our positive clinical outcomes, the programme's impact extends to the broader medical community by setting new standards in transplant care and adopting innovations that enhance patient outcomes."

The AD-BMT programme has shown consistent positive outcomes with successful engraftment rates and no incidence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). The survival rates within 100 days post-transplant and one year after have met international standards. These achievements were bolstered by ADSCC’s recent accreditation by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT), making it the first cellular therapy product processing laboratory in the UAE to achieve this recognition.

Dr Fatima Al Kaabi, Executive Director of AD-BMT at ADSCC and Director-General of Emirates Drug Establishment (EDE), remarked, "Bone marrow transplantation is a critical therapeutic intervention for patients with hematologic malignancies and other severe disorders. As a haematologist, it is incredibly gratifying to witness the profound impact our AD-BMT programme has had on patients and their families throughout the UAE and the region. Reaching the milestone of 100 transplants mostly in the past two years highlights the groundbreaking advancements and patient-focused care we are pioneering."

Research Initiatives

ADSCC is also engaged in various research projects related to adoptive cell transfer (ACT), an innovative immunotherapy treatment. This therapy involves extracting immune cells from a patient’s body, modifying them in a lab to enhance their cancer-fighting capabilities, then reintroducing them into the patient’s body. This approach aims to boost immune responses against cancer, genetic disorders, neurological conditions, and autoimmune diseases.

Over 24 months, ADSCC performed more than 70 autologous and allogenic bone marrow transplants at its hospital in Abu Dhabi for leukaemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma patients. Additionally, over 20 transplants were conducted for patients with multiple sclerosis, Krabbe disease, thalassemia, among other genetic conditions. Nearly 20 out of these 100 transplants involved children aged between three months to 18 years.

The programme's success is evident through positive survival rates post-transplantation along with reduced relapse rates. Enhanced quality of life post-transplant has been supported by rigorous preclinical research optimised conditioning regimens advancements donor matching GVHD prophylaxis extensive data collection provides valuable insights into disease mechanisms immune reconstitution long-term survivorship improving protocols expanding applicability life-saving treatment.

This achievement reflects ADSCC's commitment to advancing medical care within UAE while setting new standards globally.

With inputs from WAM