BONE MARROW ISTANBUL AND ANTALYA

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Revised April, 2024 – Resource, International Patient Center
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In the scientific program, the issues of stem cell transplantation in adults and children were discussed in all aspects and up-to-date data were presented by very valuable scientists. in the congress, which included 14 scientific sessions, 3 courses, 86 oral presentations and scientific subcommittee meetings were held. 118 session chairs and speakers took part in the congress. About 500 participants came to the congress.

The first day of the congress began with a Course of Controversial Issues and Difficult Facts.

Speakers and session moderators transplantation were examined in detail with valuable and up to date with developments in the scientific program discussed the problems and solutions searched for.

In addition to physicians, the training of nurses and other employees plays an important role in the success of bone marrow transplant units. In this context, this year is the 6th. Transplantation Coordinators Course and 12th a Bone Marrow Transplantation and Apheresis Nursing Training Program was organized.

The Turkish Society of Hematology, which attaches great importance to Coordinator and Nurse training, supported the participation of one trainee from each bone marrow transplant center in the congress in order to achieve the goal of the courses and to ensure nationwide participation.

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BECOMING A STEM CELL DONOR

Michigan University Faculty of Medicine Internal Medicine Hematology Lecturer Prof. Dr. emphasized that bone marrow transplantation in the world is being applied more and more frequently because it can provide a complete recovery in important blood diseases such as leukemia, Mediterranean anemia and bone marrow failure.

For a successful stem cell transplant, patients must have an appropriate voluntary donor (donor). In Turkey, most of the donors are selected from among brothers and sisters. Because domestic donors are easier to find than in other countries. In the event that a suitable donor is not found, it is investigated that he will choose a non-relative donor. Domestic bank in bone marrow (TURKOK, TRIS, TRAN) voluntary unrelated donor or the donor pool from banks from overseas is trying to find.

Being a donor is based on volunteerism. Volunteer donors donate stem cells not only for related patients, but also for people they don’t know, and don’t expect any benefit from it. Currently, the number of voluntary donors in the world has reached 30 million. Since all of these donors are healthy people, attention is paid to donor safety. Since side effects that can be considered serious to date are rare and the procedure is safe, volunteer people continue to donate stem cells. For donor safety, donors are given a thorough preliminary assessment before transplantation. Stem cells are collected after donors whose health status is eligible for stem cell donation have been granted eligibility for collection.
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The process of collecting blood stem cells from donors is similar to a normal blood donation process. After collection, donors return to their daily lives. Bone marrow collection from the donor may be required depending on the patient’s condition. Superficial anesthesia can be given so that pain is not felt when collecting bone marrow. Before all these procedures, donors must give their consent after a thorough notification to be made to them.

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THE DONOR TARGET IN TURKEY IS 800 THOUSAND

Stating that there are currently around 600 thousand donors in Turkey, it is expected that this number will reach around 800 thousand in the coming period, the President of the Turkish Hematological Association Prof. Dr. said, “I would like to point out that it no longer makes much sense to increase the donor a lot after a certain number. Because after that, the probability of finding a gene for tissue groups that are considered very difficult is low. a donor of about 800 thousand is a good figure. Being a real donor, it is important that the rejection rates are low. When we look at the donor pool in Turkey, there is actually a young pool that is desired. It can be preferred. However, there are situations where the family has a say in the abandonment, especially due to our family structure, until the ages of 25-30. Sometimes donors can give up as a result of family and spouse resources,” he said.

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CAR T CELL THERAPIES

General Secretary of the Turkish Society of Hematology Professor Doctor, on the other hand, conveyed the latest developments related to CAR T cell treatments:

The immune system considers substances that enter the body from the outside as foreign and tries to destroy them by attacking.

CAR T cell therapy is based on the principle that white blood cells, which are part of the immune system and are called T lymphocytes, are sensitized to a certain type of cancer in the laboratory and given to the patient.

In order to better understand how CAR T cell therapy works, it may be helpful to know a little more about the relationship between the immune system and cancer. The immune system recognizes and destroys foreign substances in the body through structures called antigens located on their surface. Cancer cells also have some special antigens located on their surface, but immune system cells (especially T lymphocytes) cannot always recognize these antigens, so it is difficult to understand that cancer cells are foreign to the body. This condition facilitates the spread of cancer. T lymphocytes use structures called receptors to recognize the antigen of a cancer cell. With the help of receptors, they attach to the antigen on the cancer cell and eliminate it. But if T cells do not have the appropriate receptor, they cannot bind to the cancer cell and help destroy the cell.

In CAR T cell therapy, first of all, T lymphocytes are collected from the cancer patient’s own blood with the help of a machine. Then, man-made receptors (called chimeric antigen receptor or CAR) are placed on these T-cells in the laboratory that recognize the antigen of the cancer found in the patient. After that, these T cells that will attack the cancer are returned to the patient by a vein, allowing him to fight cancer cells.

This can be summarized as the fact that a person’s own immune system is artificially sensitized to cancer. In order to make the treatment more successful, it is important to reduce the number of cancer cells that the immune system will cope with. For this purpose, chemotherapy may be given to the patient a few days before CAR T cell therapy.

Currently, there are two CAR T cell therapies approved for use in blood and lymph cancers in the United States. Although it has not yet been clarified whether these treatments will result in a long-term full recovery, many patients have benefited from the treatment. However, side effects that may be fatal due to CAR T cell therapy have also been observed. Scientists are also investigating the long-term side effects of this treatment choice. Other CAR T cell treatment studies are underway to treat different types of cancer.

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Medically Reviewed by Professor Doctor Alper Demirbaş

President of Organ Transplant Center at MedicalPark Hospital Antalya

Turkey's world-renowned organ transplant specialist. Dr. Demirbaş has 104 international publications and 102 national publications.

Physician's Resume:

Born on August 7, 1963 in Çorum, Prof. Dr. Alper Demirbaş has been continuing his work as the President of MedicalPark Antalya Hospital Organ Transplantation Center since 2008.

Prof. who performed the first tissue incompatible kidney transplant in Turkey, the first blood type incompatible kidney transplant, the first kidney-pancreas transplant program and the first cadaveric donor and live donor liver transplant in Antalya. Dr. As of August 2016, Alper Demirbaş has performed 4900 kidney transplants, 500 liver transplants and 95 pancreas transplants.

In addition to being the chairman of 6 national congresses, he has also been an invited speaker at 12 international and 65 national scientific congresses. Dr. Alper Demirbaş was married and the father of 1 girl and 1 boy.

Awards:

Eczacibasi Medical Award of 2002, Akdeniz University Service Award of 2005, Izder Medical Man of the Year Award of 2006, BÖHAK Medical Man of the Year Award of 2007, Sabah Mediterranean Newspaper Scientist of the Year Award of 2007, ANTIKAD Scientist of the Year Award of 2009, Social Ethics Association Award of 2010, Işık University Medical Man of the Year Award of 2015, VTV Antalya's Brand Value Award of 2015.

Certificates:

Doctor of Medicine Degree Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine Ankara, General Surgeon Ministry of Health Turkey EKFMG (0-477-343-8), University of Miami School of Medicine Member of Multiple Organ Transplant, ASTS Multiorgan Transplant Scholarship. Lecturer at Kyoto University. Lecturer at University of Essen, Research assistant at the University of Cambridge .

Professional Members:

American Society of Transplant Surgeons, American Transplantation Society Nominated, Middle East and Southern Africa Council Transplantation Society 2007, International Liver Transplantation Association, Turkish Transplantation Association, Turkish Society of Surgery, Turkish Hepatobiliary Surgery Association.

Disclaimer:

Our website contents consist of articles approved by our Web and Medical Editorial Board with the contributions of our physicians. Our contents are prepared only for informational purposes for public benefit. Be sure to consult your doctor for diagnosis and treatment.

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