UNIVERSITAS AIRLANGGA NEWS – Faculty of Medicine (FK) Universitas Airlangga held an international symposium entitled “1 st International Conference and Workshop (ICW) 2019″. The theme was Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering Regenerative Medicine From Basic Science to Clinical Application. The symposium was held for two days, on Saturday, Jan. 26 and Sunday, Jan. 27 at Wyndham Hotel Surabaya. This activity is a form of collaboration between FK UNAIR and Dr. Soetomo, and it will be held annually.
The first discussion was guided by dr. Sulis Bayusentono with three speakers, dr. Ferdiansyah Mahyudin Yunus, SpOT; Dr. Asra Al Fauzi, S.E., M.M., SpBS (K), FICS, IFAANS; and Prof. Dr. Fendik A. Rantam, drh.
Head of executive committee of ICW 2019, Dr. Achmad Chusnu Romdhoni., dr., SpTHT., KL(K) said that the conference was held as an effort of FK UNAIR in the stem cell technology development, specifically to overcome degenerative problems such as Parkinson’s, stroke, diabetes, and so on. This technology is even claimed to be able to support the growth of amputated bones due to tumors.
“Degenerative disease is a health problem related to cell turnover. Damaged cells are replaced with new cells. But there are indeed some cells that cannot regenerate, for example nerve cells. With this new technology such as stem cell, it is expected to support these cells growing back, “he explained.
He also said that until now the application of stem cells as one of the methods of treatment in Indonesia has not been done much.
“The treatment process using stem cells in Indonesia has not been commercialized. At Dr. Soetomo Hospital itself is still limited to studies or research. Everything is still under supervision. If the results are good in the future, stem cell technology can be applied, “he added.
In Indonesia, stem cell applications in the medical world are still experiencing a number of obstacles and challenges. Among them are related to regulatory issues and standardization from the government. Even the number of hospitals that get permission to develop stem cells is limited. Dr. Achmad also did not dismiss if treatment using stem cells requires great cost. Nevertheless, he hoped that this technology can be realized in Indonesia.