Amal Bishara | |
---|---|
Nationality | Israeli Arab |
Alma mater | The Hebrew University |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Immunogenetics |
Institutions | Hadassah Medical Center, in Jerusalem, Israel |
Amal Bishara is an Israeli Arab doctor, and the director of Bone Marrow Registry Outreach, Hadassah Medical Center, which is associated with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. There she runs the only bone marrow transplant registry in the world for unrelated Arab donors. [1] Dr. Amal has published and presented internationally on her research into immunogenetics. [1] She serves on the Accreditation Committee of the European Federation for Immunogenetics. [2]
Amal Bishara is an Arab Israeli . She was born in Tarshiha near Ma’alot in the region of Galilee. [3]
In 1976, she became a member of the tissue typing lab at Hadassah Medical Center, which is associated with The Hebrew University. There she obtained a post-graduate degree, followed by a doctorate in microbiology and immunology. [3] After post-doctoral work in Boston, she accepted a position at Hadassah Medical Center in 1988. [4] There she enjoys “the combination of clinical practice and clinical research, she published more than 40 papers and participated in many national and international meeting.” [3]
In 2008, Dr. Bishara established the only bone marrow transplant registry in the world for unrelated Arab donors, the Bone Marrow Registry Outreach, at Hadassah Medical Center. [1] She works closely with Prof. Chaim Brautbar, who founded Hadassah's tissue typing laboratory, and Dr. Shoshana Israel, who currently directs the unit. [5]
In the case of stem cell transplants, the HLA tissue type of the patient and the donor must be a match. Inheritance of HLA types tends to occur within ethnic groups, making it particularly difficult to find a match in some populations. [6] As a result of genetic homogeneity, Arabs are much more likely to find a related bone marrow donor (60%). However, approximately 40% of all Arab patients do not find a match within their families. Such patients are unlikely to find unrelated matches from the usual international bone marrow registries (10%). [7] The vast majority (90%) of Arab cases requesting matches for bone marrow transplants involve children with genetic diseases due to genetically close intermarriage. [8]
Beginning in 2008, Dr. Amal and her volunteers have provided educational programs and carried out donor recruitment campaigns in Arab towns. [1] In spite of restrictions on travel between Israel and the territories, Dr. Bishara has been able to match donors and patients from the West Bank, including Ramallah, Beit Sahour, and Hebron. [7] By 2016, Dr. Bishara's project listed over 34,000 possible donors. [1] The donors from the Arab registry are also listed in the American National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) and the World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA). [7] Until 2016 a total of 61 Arab donors donated bone marrow\mobilised perennial stem cells. Of these donors 22 are female and 39 male donors, from 19 to 54 years old.
Dr. Bishara presented to the organization Bone Marrow Donors Worldwide (BMDW) in 2010, [4] [9] and was recognized by them with an award in 2013. [10] She also has been recognized as an outstanding female scientist in the Women in Science Hall of Fame. The award was presented by US Ambassador to Israel HE Daniel Shapiro at the Embassy of the United States in Cairo, Egypt. [11] [12]
Aplastic anemia (AA) is a severe hematologic condition in which the body fails to make blood cells in sufficient numbers. Blood cells are produced in the bone marrow by stem cells that reside there. Aplastic anemia causes a deficiency of all blood cell types: red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.
The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system is a complex of genes on chromosome 6 in humans that encode cell-surface proteins responsible for regulation of the immune system. The HLA system is also known as the human version of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) found in many animals.
Hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) is the transplantation of multipotent hematopoietic stem cells, usually derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood, in order to replicate inside a patient and produce additional normal blood cells. HSCT may be autologous, syngeneic, or allogeneic.
Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) is a syndrome, characterized by inflammation in different organs. GvHD is commonly associated with bone marrow transplants and stem cell transplants.
A cord blood bank is a facility which stores umbilical cord blood for future use. Both private and public cord blood banks have developed in response to the potential for cord blood in treating diseases of the blood and immune systems. Public cord blood banks accept donations to be used for anyone in need, and as such function like public blood banks. Traditionally, public cord blood banking has been more widely accepted by the medical community. Private cord blood banks store cord blood solely for potential use by the donor or donor's family. Private banks typically charge around $2,000 for the collection and around $200 a year for storage.
Cell therapy is a therapy in which viable cells are injected, grafted or implanted into a patient in order to effectuate a medicinal effect, for example, by transplanting T-cells capable of fighting cancer cells via cell-mediated immunity in the course of immunotherapy, or grafting stem cells to regenerate diseased tissues.
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The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1987 and based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that operates the Be The Match Registry of volunteer hematopoietic cell donors and umbilical cord blood units in the United States.
World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA) is an organization based in Leiden, Netherlands, that coordinates the collection of the HLA phenotypes and other relevant data of volunteer hematopoietic cell donors and cord blood units across the globe.
Tissue typing is a procedure in which the tissues of a prospective donor and recipient are tested for compatibility prior to transplantation. Mismatched donor and recipient tissues can lead to rejection of the tissues. There are multiple methods of tissue typing.
Pablo Rubinstein is a pioneer in freezing of umbilical cord blood or placental blood cells for the use for unrelated donors to treat diseases like leukemia and genetic diseases such as Tay–Sachs disease and sickle cell anemia. He pioneered and established an international cord blood banking system and has played a leading role in international cord blood transplantation.
John Raymond Hobbs MRCS, FRCP, FRCPath, FRCPaed was a professor who was at the forefront of the techniques of clinical immunology, protein biochemistry and bone marrow transplantation, specifically in child health.
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Transplantable organs and tissues may refer to both organs and tissues that are relatively often transplanted, as well as organs and tissues which are relatively seldom transplanted. In addition to this it may also refer to possible-transplants which are still in the experimental stage.
The Gift of Life Marrow Registry is a non-profit organization founded in 1991 and headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida that operates a public blood stem cell and bone marrow registry while facilitating transplants for children and adults battling life-threatening illnesses, including leukemia, lymphoma, other cancers and genetic diseases.
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Narinder Kumar Mehra is an Indian immunologist, head of the department of transplant immunology and immunogenetics of the SRL Limited, Gurgaon. He is a former dean of research and holds the ICMR Dr. C.G. Pandit National Chair at AIIMS. An elected fellow of the International Medical Sciences Academy, The World Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy and National Academy of Sciences, India, Mehra is known for his research on histocompatibility and immunogenetics. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards for his contributions to Medical Sciences in 1992. He received the Chevalier of the National Order of Merit from François Mitterrand in 2003.
DATRI is a not-for-profit organization registered in 2009 as a Section 8 company under Government of India. DATRI is one of the largest unrelated blood stem cell donors registry in India, that helps patients with blood cancer and other fatal blood disorders to find a HLA matched Blood Stem Cell donor. Blood stem cell transplant is a chance of cure for patients with blood cancer and other severe blood disorders. As of January 2023, DATRI has more than 5 lakhs voluntary donors registered and it has facilitated 1074 plus transplants worldwide. DATRI operates across India.
Shimon Slavin is an Israeli professor of medicine. He pioneered immunotherapy mediated by allogeneic donor lymphocytes and innovative methods for stem cell transplantation to cure hematological malignancies and solid tumors. He also used hematopoietic stem cells to induce transplantation tolerance to bone marrow and organ allografts.