Singapore stem cell transplant programme receives international accreditation

A stem cell transplant programme offered in Singapore has received international accreditation. 

Offered by the National University Cancer Institute and the National University Hospital, the programme is the first in Asia to be recognised. 

The accreditation is offered by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy or FACT, at the University of Nebraska Medical Centre. 

It's seen as the gold standard for hospitals and medical institutions offering stem cell transplant. 

In Singapore , both NUH and the National University Cancer Institute had to go through a rigorous screening process. 

Improvements were made to address areas such as patient safety and laboratory practices. 

The hospitals' stem cell programme addresses adult as well as childhood illnesses. 

Together, they perform up to 65 of the 180 transplants that are done each year in Singapore. 

Stem cell transplants are done to treat diseases such as leukaemia, lymphoma and thalassaemia. 

Patients come from as far off as Russia, Mongolia and the Middle East. 

The FACT accreditation is reviewed every three years.

Professor Dario Campana is from the Department of Paediatrics at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. 

"The FACT accreditation demonstrates that the centre meets the highest possible standards and it's capable of doing the most complex of current procedures in addition to that it also shows that the set up allows us to implement innovative therapies."