China’s first stem cell hospital opens in Boao

Beijing. Jul 31. Silkroadnews - China Stem Cell Group Co Ltd, a Shanghai-based company, announced the opening of its affiliated stem cell hospital in Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone in Hainan, Xinhua reports.
The clinic will be able to handle 1,000 blood stem cell transplantations annually, said Ruan Changgeng, director of the Blood Research Institute of Jiangsu Province, who has been appointed as the honorary head of the hospital, along with three other academicians as chief scientists.
Ruan said that the hospital will help to effectively reduce the shortage of transplantation resources in the country.
Lu Wei, vice president of China Stem Cell Group, said the clinic focus on blood stem cell transplants while also engaging itself in developing a top-level platform for the country's stem cell industry, which will combine disease prevention, medical treatment, research on clinical applications of stem cell technology, education, and rehabilitation.
“So far the company has helped with 3,500 umbilical cord blood transplants, the largest number in the country. About 58.9 percent of the patients who have received the transplants are still alive after five years, which is at an advanced international level for the time being,” Lu added.
Experimental zone of international medical tourism Hainan Boao Lecheng, the only one of its kind in China, enjoys nine preferential policies granted by the State Council since 2013, such as stem cell treatment without the permission of the central government.
A total of 27 medical projects have been completed or are under construction in the pilot zone, and another 38 projects have passed medical technology appraisals, and in total the administration office has talked with developers of 101 high-end medical and healthcare projects, the report reads.
It is expected that all projects in the pilot zone will be completed in about five years. By that time, according to estimates, the zone will receive 5 million tourists a year.