HK Children's Hospital Facilitates Life-Saving Stem Cell Transplant for Thalassaemia Patient

Hong Kong Children's Hospital receives smooth delivery of cord blood haematopoietic stem cell unit from Mainland for patient treatment

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

The Hong Kong Children's Hospital (HKCH) has been treating a 5-year-old girl who suffers from thalassaemia. The clinical team had planned to perform a haematopoietic stem cell transplant for the patient, and during the process, it was noted that her relative has a cord blood unit stored in a cord blood bank in Guangzhou. Putting the patient's treatment as the priority, the clinical team communicated with the cord blood bank concerned, which included understanding the details of the cord blood unit, as well as regulations and procedures for cross-boundary transportation. The clincial team has rendered full facilitation during the process.

Upon notification by HKCH, the Hospital Authority Head Office informed relevant government departments about the transfer and transplant arrangements of this case per the usual mechanism. The Hospital Authority has ensured the transfer and transplant processes comply with related regulations in Hong Kong and the Mainland, and requested that no commercial considerations would be involved.

The cord blood unit concerned arrived as planned today (July 25) at the HKCH stem cell transplant laboratory, where it is now being stored according to established procedures. The clinical team will perform the transplant for the patient at an appropriate time according to the treatment plan and her clinical condition.

HKCH expresses gratitude to all Hong Kong and Mainland units involved in the process for their support and facilitation in bringing hope for the patient's treatment.

HKCH is the only centre in Hong Kong to perform haematopoietic stem cell transplants for children. About 40 to 50 transplants are performed each year, including several thalassaemia cases. Sources of haematopoietic stem cells include bone marrow, peripheral blood stem cells and cord blood. Based on their individual situations, patients can receive an autologous or allogeneic transplant, using haematopoietic stem cells from their siblings, parents or unrelated donors.

Source: AI-generated images

Remarks by FS at media session (with photo/video)

The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan; the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, and the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, together with the Chief Executive Officer of the Securities and Futures Commission, Ms Julia Leung, and the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Mr Eddie Yue, met the media this evening (April 7). Following are Mr Chan's remarks at the media session:

Reporter: What tools does the Government have to handle the situation of the market and will Hong Kong consider a national team investor equivalent to intervene? Should the markets keep dropping, what is the bottom line for the state of the market before countermeasures will be considered?

Financial Secretary: I think Julia has explained very clearly the situation in the Hong Kong stock market. Basically, the market has been functioning orderly. There are substantial selling but also buying interests. The spread between the two has been very tight, indicating that the buying power remains very strong.

Hong Kong is a free port, and we encourage capital and investors from different parts of the world to take part in our capital market. Over the years, we have been taking a number of measures to enhance the competitiveness and attractiveness of our capital market, no matter whether it is improving the listing regime, lowering the transaction costs, expanding the markets, attracting investors and capital from around the world, or offering new products such as the ETF (exchange-traded fund) listed on the Saudi stock exchange (and investing in the Hong Kong stock market). All in all, we will persistently and consistently push forward initiatives on various fronts. With an expanding market and more participants from different parts of the world, the liquidity and resilience of our market will be enhanced. The resilience of our market has been very strong. We do not think the current volatility in the market warrants the taking of any drastic measures.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the remarks.)

Remarks by FS at media session (with photo/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases