Turkey ‘rising star of Europe in stem cell, cancer treatment’: Expert

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

Turkey provides cutting-edge medical services including stem cell transplants to millions including the refugees it hosts, has said Turkish professor of hematology.

After celebrating Doctors’ Day, Fevzi Altuntaş told on March 14 Anadolu Agency that Turkey emulated Western developed countries in its drive to offer patients high-end medical services.

Doctors’ Day is a tribute to the opening of Turkey’s first modern medical school on March 14, 1827 celebrated nationwide since 1919 to honor doctors and other medical professionals.

Altuntaş, founder of Turkish cord blood and bone marrow storage bank Türkök and president of the World Apheresis Association since 2018, is one of the architects of Turkey’s exponential medical progress.

“Cancer treatment and especially stem cell research is a source of pride [for Turkey] and is probably the fastest growing medical practice in Turkey in the past decade with the number of stem cell transplants rising from the 200s to over 4600, annually,” said Altuntaş.

He underlined that thousands of patients - including dozens of refugees - were relieved of various ailments through the treatment in capital Ankara where Altuntaş is chief physician at an oncology hospital.

“Civilization is not all about GDP per capita, most countries cannot offer such high-end services even to their own citizens,” Altuntaş said of the expensive and hard-to-perform procedure.

He stressed that the number of stem cell transplants carried out in Turkey doubles the average in member countries of the EU and the OECD.

Turkey’s social state and internationally accredited stem cell labs should be a source of pride, he said.

Altuntaş added that people from all over the world come to Turkey for high-quality, low-cost stem cell treatment compared to the U.S. and Europe, expressing confidence that the procedure has a potential to be Turkey’s niche product in health tourism, considering that 1 billion people live in a 4-hour radius.

“The cost is $500,000 in the U.S. while it is around $20,000 for Turkish citizens and $60,000 for international patients in state-run institutions, and only rising up to $100,000 in the private facilities,” said Altuntaş.

Altuntaş said 500,000 donors currently donated blood and stem cells to Türkök - a cord blood and bone marrow bank that he heads - already curing patients from more than 10 countries.

He emphasized that its younger pool and modern equipment were what differentiated the bank from its counterparts.

“Türkök is open to all patients in the world and has everything it takes to become a Turkish global brand in the health sector,” Altuntaş said.