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• 03 / 31 / 2010

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Doctor in Sciences Porfirio Hernandez has been awarded the Francisco de Arango y Parreño prize of the Sociedad Economica de Amigos del Pais for his work with stem-cells.

A senior researcher of the Institute of Hematology and Immunology, Hernandez, 72, graduated from the University of Havana in 1964, according to a report published in Granma daily.

"Until this date we have used the regenerative cellular therapy in about 800 patients marked for amputation in their lower limbs, saving 60 to70 percent of these persons from losing a limb due to blood circulation deficiency," said Hernandez.

He explained the procedure is used in hospitals of six provinces. Beyond the achievements in the field of Angiology with the implant of stem cells obtained from the bone marrow, this therapy began to be used in treatment of arthritic knees.

Doctor Porfirio Hernandez was also awarded in 2007 the Special Prize of the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment (CITMA) for the most relevant scientific contribution for the application of stem-cell transplants in patients with severe ischemias in the lower limbs.

Source: Cubasi.com