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  • Stem cells of an Irkutian saved the life of a patient from Moscow

    15.06.2020 04:14:07


    The Russian registry of bone marrow donors consists of 18 regional registers, to which all transplant centers in the country have access. The register of the Irkutsk region has over 340 potential donors, as well as Olga Pugina, whose stem cells were perfectly suited for transplant for a Moscow patient suffering from leukemia, who is being treated at the Hematology Research Center. Previously, she had bone marrow transplantation twice from other donors, but both times foreign stem cells were rejected by her body.


    “Since stem cells were needed as quickly as possible, we carried out all the preparations for bone marrow harvesting as quickly as possible - and completed the procedure in just two days,” says Marina Demchenkova, head of the high-dose chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation department of the Regional Cancer Center.


    Due to the fact that stem cells remain viable for only a few days, the harvest and delivery of donor biomaterial must be done in a strictly defined time: a few hours before transplantation. And Irkutsk met the deadlines - the only flight which was supposed to deliver the cells to Moscow was postponed for a day due to the reasons associated with the spread of coronavirus infection, so Olga had to go through the collection of the biomaterial again.


    Stem cells were delivered to Moscow by a doctor from the Irkutsk Cancer Center, who after this trip had to stay at home for a two-week self-isolation period. We have to mention the understanding with which the Irkutsk airport employees reacted to her mission: the “green corridor” regime was organized for the priceless cargo that could be damaged by X-rays. So, after a few hours, he was already in the capital's clinic, where a successful transplantation was performed. To date, Olga Pugina's stem cells have successfully taken root in the body of a Moscow patient.


    “I have been on the regional registry of bone marrow donors since 2016. Then I saw the announcement, which was done by “InVitro” and, without hesitation, decided to take part in it. My grandmother died from leukemia, so, having learned that donor cells can save the lives of patients with this disease, I could not refuse the opportunity to help them”, says Olga Pugina. “Although, after a few months I completely forgot about it, and the call I got from the doctors of the Cancer Center turned out to be unexpected for me. But I immediately agreed to come and go through all the necessary procedures. Of course, there was a fear of what was coming - however, the attentive and caring doctors of the Cancer Center were always next to me, they did not let me feel afraid. And the procedure itself turned out to be completely painless. But now, it seems, I have acquired a new relative - that person in whom a part of me lives. And it's great!"



    “I would like to thank everyone who took part in this process of helping save the life: both our donor and the staff of the Irkutsk airport who assisted in the transportation of stem cells,” said the head physician of the Regional Cancer Center, MD, professor Victoria Dvornichenko. “I also thank the team of our center for their excellent work, who never stop in their achievements and always strives for new heights. I am proud that today we provide assistance not only to our Siberian patients, but also to patients from other Russian regions. I hope that from now on the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation will grant us, as a center for bone marrow transplantation, quotas for high-tech medical care that will allow us to conduct stem cell transplantations to residents of the Siberian and Far East federal districts in need.”

    Since 2016, when a high-dose chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation department appeared in the Irkutsk Cancer Center, 67 transplants were carried out - and two of them were performed using donor stem cells (allogeneic transplantation, and autologous transplantation where the patient’s bone marrow is used). Currently, the department’s employees are preparing two more allogeneic transplantations: the donor for one of them lives in the Kirov region, and another lives in the Republic of Armenia.







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