LOS ANGELES—On December 23, 2016, the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR) and the R. O. Yeolian Hematology Center signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) in Yerevan. The MoC was signed by Dr. Sevak Avagyan, executive director of ABMDR and Professor Smbat Daghbashyan, director of the Hematology Center.
The scope of the MoC comprises a broad range of synergistic activities in terms of donor searches, HLA typing, information exchange, consultancy, and bone marrow stem cell transplantations.
In the course of the one-year contract period, ABMDR will perform compatible stem cell donor searches as well as low- and high-resolution HLA typing of family donors and patients, and share the data with the Hematology Center. ABMDR will perform low-resolution issue typing for a maximum of 60 patients and three family members each, and high-resolution HLA typing for a maximum of 40 patients. ABMDR will render all of these services free of charge, throughout the duration of the agreement.
While ABMDR and the Hematology Center will exchange information on potential donors and patients as needed, they will jointly assess, evaluate, and monitor donor-search and transplantation procedures. Additionally, the two institutions will share professional consultancy and expertise with regard to bone marrow and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, on a case-by-case basis.
All collaborative activities will be facilitated and led by a Joint Transplant Coordination Board, as stipulated by the MoC. The Board will consist of doctors and other healthcare professionals from ABMDR and the Hematology Center. They will include specialists in clinical hematology and transplantology, as well as experts in tissue typing and laboratory diagnostics.
The signing of the MoC comes on the heels of the launch of Armenia’s first Bone Marrow Transplantation Center, in November 2016. Established as an on-site unit of the R. O. Yeolian Hematology Center, in Yerevan, the Bone Marrow Transplantation Center will collaborate closely with ABMDR and its HLA Typing Laboratory in Yerevan.
“The launch of the Bone Marrow Transplantation Center as well as our agreement with the R. O. Yeolian Hematology Center are major milestones for Armenian medicine and medical research,” said ABMDR president Dr. Frieda Jordan. “While the establishment of a transplantation center in Armenia has been our cherished dream for the past 17 years, our collaboration with the Hematology Center is poised to take our collective work to a whole new level of excellence, in our shared quest to save lives. I’d like to convey our profound appreciation and gratitude to Prof. Smbat Daghbashyan of the Hematology Center, as well as the Health Ministry of the Republic of Armenia, for their extraordinary collaboration and support!”
About the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry: Established in 1999, ABMDR, a nonprofit organization, helps Armenians and non-Armenians worldwide survive life-threatening blood-related illnesses by recruiting and matching donors to those requiring bone marrow stem cell transplants. To date, the registry has recruited over 28,000 donors in 42 countries across four continents, identified over 4,200 patients, and facilitated 27 bone marrow transplants. For more information, call (323) 663-3609 or visit abmdr.am.
For more information, call (323) 663-3609 or visit abmdr.am.
