[:es]Cuban President Heads Opening of New Hematology Institute[:]

Diaz-Canel was accompanied by the second secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) Jose Ramon Machado Ventura, who inaugurated that institution on December 2, 1966, when he served as Minister of Public Health.

The event was also attended by the current Cuban Minister and Vice President Roberto Morales and the First Secretary of the PCC Provincial Committee, Lazara Mercedes Lopez.

In the opening remarks, its director Consuelo Macias, after recalling the beginnings of the scientific institution and some of its achievements in 52 years of work, listed some of the main projections for the next five years, including rising by 90 percent the level of cure of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

She also mentioned the introduction of traditional and massive sequencing to identify new diagnoses in hematology and immunological diseases, as well as to achieve more personalized treatments.

Macias considered essential in the sustained work of the center, the creation of the integrated program of the hemophiliac patient, its national registry and the diagnosis of primary immunodeficiency, with multi-center projects extended to the 15 provinces of the nation.

The new entity, which now has 419 employees, has among its main objectives to develop scientific research and technological innovations applied to hematological, immunological, transfusion and regenerative medicine that include clinical trials with biotechnological products.