In line with the "Partnership in Health" approach and continuation of the cooperation between the health institutions and hospitals in the Sultanate of Oman, the Ministry of Health (MOH), in partnership with the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH), provides for the first time in the Sultanate of Oman the Extracorporeal Photopheresis (ECP) device.

The device treats diseases that result from complications of bone marrow transplantation, as well as cases rejecting biopsy and tissues implanted in the body.

This service will be provided in the Blood Diseases Department at the SQUH. Treatment with ECP is a qualitative leap in transfusion medicine. It is a therapeutic procedure that purifies the blood from the antibodies resulting from the body's rejection of implanted tissues.

Due to sending patients abroad to receive such treatment for indefinite and prolonged periods, the health sector leadership in the Sultanate of Oman stressed the importance of providing the ECP device to reduce this high-cost treatment.

The launching ceremony was attended by H.E. Dr. Hilal bin Ali Al-Sabti, Minister of Health, along with H.H. Dr. Fahad bin Al-Julanda AL Said, Vice-Chancellor of Sultan Qaboos University, Dr. Abdulaziz bin Mahmood Al-Mahrazi, SQUH Director General, Dr. Zainab bint Nasser Al-Balushi, SQUH Deputy Director General for Medical Affairs, as well as a number of senior officials from MOH, SQUH, Armed Forces Hospital and Royal Oman Police Hospital.

Providing such device prove the partnership provided by the private sector such as Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) to support the MOH's efforts with the other health sectors in the Sultanate of Oman.