REGENERATIVE therapy has benefited 3,000 patients in 10 Cuban provinces with promising results, according to Professor Porfirio Hernández, the pioneer of this innovative treatment.

Hernández, national coordinator of the specialty, explained to AIN that these achievements place Cuba among the first countries in the region to introduce and extend stem cell therapy.

Dr. Hernández, also deputy director of the Hematology and Immunology Institute (IHI), said that stem cell therapy in Cuba is being used in the specialties of hematology, angiology, cardiology, orthopedics and dentistry, and consists of utilizing adult stem cells to reconstruct or regenerate cells distinct from them.

Implants, obtained from bone marrow or peripheral blood, are being used to treat chronic arterial insufficiency, and have demonstrated their value in cardiovascular disorders, periodontitis, orthopedics and traumatology.

In the context of traumatology, stem cells are used for bone fractures, necrosis of hip bones and the head of the femur, and in lymphedema of lower limbs.

IHI, which has centralized blood bank activities, has trained Cuban medical personnel in this procedure, initiated there in 2004 in conjunction with specialists from the Enrique Cabrera General Teaching Hospital and the William Soler Pediatric Teaching Hospital, and extended to other institutions in the country.

In addition to patients’ swift recovery, this therapy is less invasive in the majority of cases and represents significant savings for the country, given that it is less costly and has positive results, Hernández noted.