Kenyans with chronic disease might soon be able to undergo stem cell therapy after the Kenya Medical Research Institute on Thursday unveiled a Stem Cell research centre in Nairobi.
The unit established at the Kemri’s Centre for Biotechnology Research and Development, will serve as a Stem Cell Research Hub at the host institution.
It will also make Kemri a Centre of Excellence in Stem Cell Research in local, regional and international collaborations.
Stem-cell therapy is the use of stem cells to treat or prevent a disease or condition.
Stem cells are the cells that develop into blood, brain, bones, and all of the body’s organs.
They have the potential to repair, restore, replace and regenerate cells. They could possibly be used to treat many medical conditions and diseases.
The research will enable scientists at the centre to develop new therapies to regenerate and repair tissues that have been damaged or affected by diseases or accidents.
The laboratory will focus on research in new therapies for cancer, diabetes, burns and Leishmaniasis (also known as kala-azar).
The Stem Cell Unit which was commissioned on Thursday has been established under Sh77.2 million infrastructure grant, awarded to a team of KEMRI Scientists in 2020.
The Unit has been equipped with state-of-the-art modern equipment which includes Next generation sequencer, BD FACS Melody™ Cell Sorter, Cell Imager, Biosafety chamber and a CO2 incubator.
Other equipment include a freezer, liquid nitrogen tanks, medical refrigerator, refrigerated centrifuge, Real time PCR machine and a Cell Counter.
“Though our major efforts has been on infectious diseases, we are very much aware of the rising cases of non-communicable diseases. These includes cancer, diabetes, heart diseases, spinal cord injuries, strokes and burns,” Kemri Acting DG Elijah Songok said.
Through the research, scientists at Kemri will be able to generate healthy cells to replace those affected by cancer, road accidents and other diseases in what is known as regenerative medicine.
Stem cells can be guided into becoming specific cells that can be used in people to regenerate and repair tissues that have been damaged or affected by the disease.
According to Kemri board CEO Abdullahi Ali, the centre will impact directly in addressing a major part of the country’s sustainable development goals in NCDs.
He has acknowledged the burden of NCDs in the country, with more than 50 per cent of in-patient hospital admissions and 27 per cent of deaths annually being traced to these diseases.
Cardiovascular diseases account for the majority of the NCDs related deaths in the country, a trend experts say is worrying.
“This calls for the urgent need to find solutions to tackle these diseases including new approaches for prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure of such diseases,” Ali said.
“As research scientists, we believe stem cell research will increase a deeper understanding of how diseases occur and how best to tackle them,” he noted.
According to National Research Fund CEO Dickson Andala, the Stem Cell Research Unit will carry out research on stem cell and regenerative medicine in disease management hence a big milestone in the health sector in the country.
The unit will also spearhead training of MSc, PhD students and research scientists in the field of stem cell and regenerative medicine, as well as establish a repository of stem cells in Kenya.
