Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea successfully celebrates 10,000 hematopoietic stem cell transplants for the first time in Korea and holds symposium

On April 14, the Catholic University of Korea, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic Hematology Hospital (Hospital Director Professor Kim Hee Je) successfully held a commemorative ceremony and symposium at the convention hall at Sungei Orthodontics Omnibus Park to celebrate the achievement of 10,000 cases of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

After the first successful allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in Korea in 1983, the hematology hospital, which celebrated its 40th anniversary, achieved 10,000 cases of hematopoietic stem cells for the first time in Korea in December last year. In addition, it has been recognized as the “4th hospital for hematologic cancer” by making the first domestic records of various hematopoietic stem cell transplantations and receiving patients for medical treatment for tertiary medical institutions such as other domestic and foreign university hospitals.

On this day, the event, held with the topic of ‘10,000 touches, 40 years of new life creation,’ was attended by key officials including Professor Lee Hwa Seong, vice-president of medical sciences at the Catholic University of Korea and director of the Catholic Central Medical Center, Yoon Seung Gyu, director of Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, Father Lee Yo Seop, head of the spiritual department, and Professor Kim Hee Je, director of the Hematology Hospital, in addition to about 400 faculty members, including Kim Dong Jip, who is considered a pioneer in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in Korea, Honorary Professor Kim Chun Chu, and former directors of the center.

The commemorative ceremony started with the opening prayer of Father Lee Yo Seop, head of the spiritual department, and was followed, in order, by the opening, welcoming, and congratulatory remarks by Director Kim Hee Je of the Hematology Hospital, a word from Professor Min Chang Ki, the attending physician of the 10,000th transplanted multiple myeloma patient, a retrospective speech, a commemorative video of the 10,000 cases, a presentation of the analysis of the 10,000 cases, and a presentation of appreciation plaques, and ended with celebratory performances. 

In particular, Professor Kim Dong Jip, the 1st director of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Center, and Professor Kim Chun Chu, the 2nd director of the center, attended and said in the retrospective speech, “Recalling the time when we all worked together to lay the groundwork for Korea’s first hematopoietic stem cell transplantation despite the poor environment, we want to thank the medical staff for their hard work in the difficult field of hematology disease treatment.” 

In addition, a video commemorating the 40th anniversary of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation was shown. Medical staff of the Hematology Hospital appeared to look back at the 40-year history of working tirelessly. From unrelated hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, to the relocation of the hematopoietic stem cell transplantation center, Korea's first case of simultaneous renal-hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, success in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for thalassemia patients in Abu Dhabi, and reaching 10,000 cases of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation by December 2022, the hospital’s unique history in hematology disease treatment and its establishment as a singular domestic and international institution were reflected.

Professor Kim Hee Je, director of the Hematology Hospital, expressed her ambition in the opening remarks, saying, “I would like to pay my respects to all the faculty and staff of the Hematology Hospital who, for 40 years, have unsparingly devoted their pioneering sacrifices and passion for service based on a constant and passionate spirit of taking on challenges in the field of fierce new life creation.” She then added, “Even in the future, we will be reborn as a world-class specialized institution in the treatment of hematology diseases through continuous development in the field of advanced transplant medicine.”

Hospital Director Yoon Seung Gyu then offered congratulations, saying, “I would like to express my gratitude to Honorary Professor Kim Dong Jip and Kim Chun Chu, and the staff of the Hematology Hospital, who performed more than 500 cases of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation per year and made it possible for the hospital to grow into one of the largest organizations in the world.” He then added, “I sincerely support the Catholic Hematology Hospital, which has walked a difficult but historically meaningful path, and hope that they do their best in the future.

A symposium with the topic of 'A new paradigm for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT)' was held in the evening, and they shared data related to transplantation that has been accumulated through the hospital’s 40-year history.  

Invited expert panelists had in-depth discussions on the major presentations prepared based on expert surveys of academic members, and an intense discussion was held looking at the past, present, and future of allogeneic and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.