Dubai: A centre to store umbilical cord blood, rich with stem cells that have life-saving properties, will open on Tuesday.
The opening of the first of its kind centre in the UAE, located behind the Thalassaemia Centre at Al Wasl Hospital, has long been awaited by parents and thalassaemia patients alike, who hope it will help the future generation.
Dr Asma Ebrahim Al Asad, laboratory manager at the Dubai Department of Health and Medical Services, told the press that she has received many calls from interested parents.
"[They know] it's important for treatment. It can be used to treat diseases like thalassaemia, leukaemia and other blood disorders," she said. "It is a painless procedure. In two to four minutes, we can collect 100 to 120 ml of cord blood," she added.
She said the centre already has cord blood from five women, all from the UAE, who opted to save the placenta and umbilical cord from their natural delivery.
She added that the centre has the capacity to store more than 1,000 cord blood units. The centre charges for cord blood stored for private use later, but donated cord blood is free.
Currently, only Al Wasl Hospital is collecting cord blood to store at the centre, although health officials plan to expand the service to all public and private hospitals in the UAE later.
Dr Al Asad added that the bank would also be linked to an international registry of cord blood donors after it has collected cord blood from 30 donors.
Cord blood, found in the umbilical cord and placenta, has the highest amount of stem cells that have the adaptive ability to develop into other cell types.
It can turn into organs and repair tissues. It also has a higher chance of matching family members than stem cells from bone marrow, with a 25 per cent matching rate with siblings and fathers.
Saeed Jaafar Al Awadi, the oldest living thalassaemia patient in the UAE, told Gulf News that he was "very happy" that the centre was opening, saying he would store cord blood the next time his wife has a baby.
"Although all my children will not have thalassaemia [they will be carriers instead], I will still store in case of any other diseases in the future," he added.
He said the centre provided extra options for parents who could not go overseas to store cord blood. CCord blood at the centre can be stored for up to 20 years.
