The Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH) and M42 have joined forces to launch the Abu Dhabi Biobank, launching the region’s largest hybrid cord blood bank.
This collaboration reinforces the Emirate’s position as a leading destination for life sciences and aims to revolutionize healthcare by improving treatment access and health outcomes.
Advancing the nation’s health ecosystem
The Abu Dhabi Biobank, announced at the inaugural Abu Dhabi Global Healthcare Week 2024, marks a significant milestone in the Emirate’s vision of becoming a global biobanking hub.
Additionally, by creating a diverse and foundational bio-asset, the Biobank aims to support therapeutic treatments, life science research, drug discovery, and disease prevention, ultimately delivering personalized, precise, and preventative healthcare for all.
The power of stem cells
Stem cells act as a ‘bio repair kit,’ capable of healing, restoring, and replenishing other cells.
They offer hope in treating various haematological and immune system disorders, including leukaemia, lymphoma, and bone marrow diseases that require transplants.
Abu Dhabi’s Biobank’s cord blood bank facility will play a vital role in meeting the urgent need for cord blood stem cells and advancing research and innovation in the region.
Read more: Abu Dhabi’s ADQ to launch Arcera: A health-focused holding company for life sciences
Creating a rich dataset
With a capacity to store 100,000 cord blood samples and five million pan-human samples, the Abu Dhabi Biobank will further create a rich and diverse dataset.
This invaluable collection of biological samples will further provide readily available and better-matched hemopoietic stem cells globally.
By doing so, it aims to enhance community well-being through preventive measures and ensure access to advanced, high-quality health services.
State-of-the-art infrastructure
In addition, the Abu Dhabi Biobank’s cord blood bank facility, located in M42’s Omics Centre of Excellence, features state-of-the-art automated technology and a robust large-capacity biobanking infrastructure.
Moreover, this infrastructure ensures the safe and secure preservation of samples, maintaining their viability for up to 30 years.
By leveraging cutting-edge technology, the Biobank guarantees that samples remain available for research and therapeutic use, contributing to ongoing medical advancements.
Empowering expectant mothers
The cord blood bank of the Abu Dhabi Biobank offers expectant parents the opportunity to preserve their newborn’s stem cells at birth.
This safe, secure, painless, and non-intrusive process holds immense potential for lifesaving treatments.
Furthermore, expectant mothers can choose between public or private banking, contributing to the nation’s self-sufficiency in cord blood stem cells while building a healthier and more resilient society.
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