After successes attained in Bone Marrow Transplantation in the Shaiati Medical Center, the TEHRAN TIMES decided to prepare a report from the center's activities and researches. The following interview by our reporter with Professor Ardeshire Ghavamzadeh, the head of the center was done to this purpose.

Q: Would you please introduce your center to our readers.

A: The Hematology Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation Research Center (HORC ) of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, which is located in Shariati Hospital, was established in 1991. It gradually expanded and moved to a new fully equipped four-story building of 4,800 cubic meters infrastructure consisting of 4 wards with 32 beds for transplantation, two blood wards each consisting of transplantation centers and two blood wards each consisting of 12 beds. We also have a research laboratory and a computer center.

This center is one of the largest BMT centers in the world and is one of the remarkable international BMT centers due to its great number of successful transplantation operations, Pr.

Qavamzadeh head of Oncology, Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation Center said.

Q: Which services are presented here? A: This center has the honor of being pioneer in providing the services listed below: First, I performed the first HSCT in Iran et al and carried out this treatment for different kinds of cancers and hematological disorders.

Then, we began performing cord blood transplantation for the first time in Iran since 1998.

The other is performing BMT as a treatment for Thalassemia, which made Iran rank second for performing this method.

The other main activity is providing platelets needed for BMT by using the signal donor method, which has been carried out by the research lab.

Fish technique, cell culture, RT-PCR, freezing possibility for stem cell, Donor Lymphocyte Infusion etc. are the other techniques.

Before the opening of our center, Iranian candidates for BMT had to deal with a lot of financial problems to go abroad and receive treatment. It caused not only financial losses for our country, but also it added a lot of psychological problems for the patients. After the establishment of our BMT center, not only we have been treating related patients, but also have decreased extra expenditure. Now our knowledge and experience is sufficiently developed so that at the moment we have the approved technology of our own, and we have performed about 200 transplantation annually.

Q: What are your current activities? A: HORC has had many scientific/educational activities. We are preparing an international journal on Oncology, Hematology and BMT with the assistance of the foreign professors, also HORC has always been in communication with other major centers.

Q: Please explains on the outstanding projects of the center? A: There are currently about 66 research projects such as survival of multimodality therapy versus surgery alone in esophageal squamus cell carcinoma, relation between BMT vascular density and therapeutic response and so on, also we welcome the interested colleagues in the filed of cancer and BMT to our center.

Q: What is your main purpose of arranging the 2nd international congress on HORC, BMT and first nursing meeting? This congress provides you with an opportunity to have contact with a large number of researchers and clinicians together with learning about the latest developments whilst enjoying the unique attractions of Iran.

The meeting will be held on the Congress Hall of Tehran Heart Center at Shariati Hospital on September 25-29. It is the first nursing meeting with educational workshops for physicians and nurses.

The organizing committees are Hematology, Oncology and BMT Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, European School of Oncology, International Union against Cancer and Iranian Society of Hematology, Oncology.

He asked the doctors and nurses in the country and in foreign countries to participate in this useful congress.