Paving the Road for Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in the United Arab Emirates: A Single Centre’s Experience

Background: Despite its long-term history, haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) still faces challenges in several countries under development and especially in the private health sector. Objectives, Design and Methods: In this retrospective analysis, we present our experience and the results of 48 adult patients who underwent HSCT (autologous 37, allogeneic 9) at a private-sector hospital in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The main indications were multiple myeloma and acute myeloid leukaemia in the autologous and allogeneic setting, respectively. Results: All patients successfully engrafted, and after a median follow-up of 6 (range: 1–11) months, 42 patients are alive (36 autografted and 6 allografted). The 1-year overall survival rates were 97% and 62% for autografted and allografted patients, respectively, while 4 patients died within 100 days post-transplant from treatment-related causes (1 patient from the autografted group and 3 patients from the allografted group). Conclusion: Our data confirm that HSCT is a feasible, safe, and effective treatment approach, offering high success rates to UAE patients with haematological malignant diseases.