Given Dr Chang Kian Meng
Consultant specialist in hematology and transplant medicine
BODY Humans are made up of tens of thousands of cells of which stem cells are the most amazing.
Stem cells can perform the so-called “biological awakening action”.
Given Dr Chang Kian Meng, consultant specialist in hematology and transplant medicine at Sunway Medical Centre asserts that stem cells are the “mother of cells” to provide new cells.
“Every organ in our body such as heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, etc., has a unique type of stem cell,” he said.
Stem cell transplantation is the procedure of transplanting healthy stem cells into a patient’s body to repair or replace damaged cells.
It is encouraging that with advances in transplantation technology, the risk of transplantation has dropped from 30%-40% in the past to around 10% to 15% today.
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the most commonly performed procedure for patients with aplastic anemia, leukemia, thalassemia, bone marrow failure syndrome, various myeloma, lymphoma, sickle cell disease, severe combined immune deficiency syndrome and others.
In short, these stem cells can be obtained from bone marrow, peripheral blood stem cells, and umbilical cord blood.
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