By Staff Reports
(Oahu)– Clinical Labs of Hawaii (Clinical Labs) transferred ownership of its Immunogenetics Lab to the newly-formed Hawaii Cellular Therapy and Transplant Laboratory (HCTTL), a subsidiary of the not-for-profit Hawaii Cord Blood Bank, effective today. This transfer allows patients to continue to receive treatment locally, and positions HCTTL to expand organ and stem cell transplant capabilities in Hawaii.
HCTTL currently supports cell processing and storage for the State’s only stem cell transplant program at Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women and Children, and will now perform tissue-typing and related tests necessary for the operation of Hawaii’s only solid organ transplant program as well as for Legacy of Life Hawaii, the State’s organ and tissue recovery program.
All 12 Immunogenetics employees, highly trained specialists, will transfer to HCTTL, ensuring the continuity of both tissue-typing and cell processing services. Ally Park, president of Clinical Labs, said “We have supported the organ transplant program since 1995 with the state’s only Immunogenetics Lab. Without it, there would not be an organ transplant program in Hawaii as the lab is critical in matching donors and recipients. While operating the Immunogenetics Lab is no longer a part of our business plan, we wanted to ensure that these services were still available for the people of Hawaii. This transfer accomplishes that goal and may spur future growth and expansion of the state’s only organ transplant program.”
The tissue-typing component of the Immunogenetics Lab will be transferred to HCTTL at cost. Clinical Labs will also donate nearly $50,000 worth of laboratory equipment from the cell processing program to HCTTL. Cell processing supports cancer treatment for children at Kapi‘olani, and the continuation of the program under HCTTL will help their medical teams improve treatment for conditions such as diabetes, scleroderma, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis. This was all made possible by a generous bequest to the Hawaii Cord Blood Bank from Mrs. Emily O Castle.
“As technology progresses, access to transplant may be as dependent on our ability to modify and optimize the characteristics of the donor cells we transplant as it will be on finding a matching donor,” said Dr. Randal Wada, HCTTL president and medical director. “A strong laboratory foundation for stem cell processing is a crucial factor in our ability to build for the future. We are grateful to Clinical Labs for their donation in support of this vision.”
ABOUT CLINICAL LABS OF HAWAII
Founded in Hilo in 1971 by Dr. Moon S. Park, Clinical Labs of Hawaii, LLP is a medical laboratory testing company offering a full range of anatomical and clinical tests for Hawaii’s medical community. It is the state’s largest full service laboratory with more 60 locations on all major islands. Headquartered in Ewa Beach, it is an affiliate of Sonic Healthcare USA. On the web at www.ClinicalLabs.com
ABOUT HAWAII CORD BLOOD BANK
The Hawaii Cord Blood Bank is an independent, non-profit, community service organization whose mission is to support measures aimed at improving patient access to transplant, including the collection and public banking of umbilical cord blood from Hawaii’s ethnically diverse population. The program was initially piloted at the Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women and Children, and has expanded to the Queen’s Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Castle Medical Center, Tripler Army Medical Center, and Maui Memorial Medical Center. On the web at www.hcbb.org.