Singapore's leading Thalassemia experts arrive in Middle East for knowledge-sharing events

Three of their medical specialists will also be speaking at a number of prestigious Congresses in the region, covering topics like cancer, stem cell therapy and minimally-invasive surgery.

The visit is designed to respond to the increasing incidence of blood diseases like thalassemia (genetic blood disorder) and other life threatening blood disorders in countries which fall in the "Thalassemia Belt" - known as such because of their far higher-than-average proportion of sufferers.

"Thalassemia is a scourge for sufferers around the world, and is a particular issue in countries ranging from the Mediterranean, through the Middle East, and into South-East Asia and India," said Parkway Group Healthcare's Mrs Tan-Hoong Chu Eng, Group General Manager, Singapore and International Operations. "Hospitals in our group are able to offer revolutionary treatments that are often unavailable to patients in their own countries."

An example of "revolutionary treatment" is Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant (ASCT) which offers a shot at a cure for life-threatening or incurable conditions. "The cure rates for blood cancers vary depending on whether the disease is detected in the early or advanced stage," said Dr. Patrick Tan, medical director and consultant hematologist for the Hematology and Stem Cell Transplant Centre at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Singapore.

"Most cases have poor chances of cure - less than 20 per cent - with conventional chemotherapy," revealed Dr Tan. "Thus, with the developed techniques of ASCT, cure rates for some of these previously 'incurable' disorders are as high as 70 per cent, depending on the development of the cancer.

Dr Patrick Tan, who will be speaking at two conferences at the Arab Health Congress in Dubai next week, is a world-renowned specialist who has achieved numerous medical milestones and pioneered revolutionary procedures. Over 20 years experience in haematolgy and stem cell transplant, he has performed more than 600 cases of stem cell transplants.

In addition, he has achieved several "world firsts" including being the first in the world to successfully cure a Thalassemia Major sufferer with a stem cell transplant using unmatched, unrelated donors. In 2001, he also successfully performed an unrelated umbilical cord blood stem cell transplant for another Thalassaemia Major sufferer.

Moreover, patients who finally make the trip to Singapore for medical treatment can also expect much more than topnotch clinical care at the group's hospitals. PGH's medical referral centers will attend to all the myriad details that help make a patient's trip to Singapore as seamless as possible. These tasks include arranging the air tickets and airport transfers for patients and their families, arranging accommodation before, during and after the patient's hospital stay and providing interpreter services.

"We take care of every aspect of our patient's visit because we know that this is a traumatic and stressful experience for them and their family to go through. Clinical care is only half of the equation - providing a support service and an environment that accommodates specific cultural sensitivities is equally vital," added Mrs Tan.

Known for their cutting edge medicine as well as their all-encompassing support services, it is little wonder that PGH is drawing international patients from all over the world including the Middle East.