Stem cell transplant in Vietnam costs 40 million VND, while in the US it costs more than 7 billion

The information was given by Dr. Nguyen Tuan Tung, Director of the Center for Hematology and Blood Transfusion, Bach Mai Hospital, at Celebration of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Hematology and Blood Transfusion CenterOctober 17.

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the most radical treatment method, the only chance to help patients with malignant as well as benign blood diseases recover. Bach Mai Hospital has now mastered the stem cell transplant method to treat a number of hematological diseases.

“Currently, the hospital has transplanted stem cells to more than 120 patients with a high success rate. Many patients after treatment have normal health and live like healthy people,” Mr. Tung said, sharing There are patients who have been treated since they were 21 years old, when they were unmarried, and have now gotten married and given birth to healthy children.

In particular, the cost of stem cell transplant in Vietnam is considered much cheaper than in some countries. For example, stem cell transplant in Singapore costs about 4 – 6 billion VND, in Taiwan (China) from 2 – 5 billion VND. According to research published in the journal of the US National Institutes of Health, the cost of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in the US ranges from about 87,000 to 300,000 USD, with an average cost of 289,283 USD for the patients in the allogeneic myeloablative treatment group and $253,467 in the nonmyeloablative treatment group. However, costs can vary depending on many factors and some patients are not covered by insurance.

HSCT can be autologous (using the patient’s own stem cells), allogeneic (stem cells from an identical twin), or allogeneic (stem cells from a donor).

“In Vietnam, in some cases health insurance pays, the cost after stem cell transplant is about more than 40 million VND,” Dr. Tung said.

The cost of an autologous blood cell transplant includes many factors, such as the source of autologous stem cells, technology for collecting, separating, proliferating and storing cells, transplant surgery, post-transplant monitoring, etc. .

Currently, the country has more than 10 hospitals that can transplant stem cells with more than 1,000 patients receiving transplants. The success rate of stem cell transplant depends on the type of transplant technique and the type of disease. For example, with allogeneic transplantation in people with acute myeloid leukemia, the 5-year survival rate after transplantation is about 50%. Benign diseases such as bone marrow failure have a 10-year survival rate of up to 70%.

Dr. Tung said that gene therapy is a treatment trend in the world. This method uses healthy gene segments to replace the patient’s diseased genes, applied to treat a number of genetic blood diseases such as thalassemia, hemophilia and some cancers.

At the conference, Mr. Dao Xuan Co, Director of Bach Mai Hospital also said that hematology and blood transfusion are one of the difficult specialties with serious and complex diseases. However, this is also a major that has a good opportunity to become a pioneer in applying advances in science and technology. In the coming time, the hospital will develop and apply advanced, specialized techniques, accessing services from developed countries around the world such as using cell therapy, new targeted drugs, and cell transplantation. Stem cells treat autoimmune diseases.

Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan asked the hospital to promote international cooperation and learn from advanced countries’ experiences to continue developing the hematology and blood transfusion industry in Vietnam in a modern and comprehensive direction. .