Department of Health Undersecretary Dr. Teodoro Herbosa recently urged the public seeking treatment using stem cell technology to only undergo procedure initiated by reputable hospitals in the country.

The highly advanced procedure of using stem cell technology has recently gained popularity due to success claims of scientists here and abroad. However, due to the increasing demand for this technology, USEC Herbosa expressed concern that some individuals needing treatment might end-up in bogus clinics usually offering lower fees. “Just to ensure safety, it will be best for patients to seek treatment only among reputable hospitals,” Usec. Herbosa stated in an interview.

Incidentally, a leading global Filipino scientist in the field of genetics and microbiology stated that the Philippines is now one of the leading countries in the world, even a step ahead of Germany, in the field of health science. Presidential Awardee Dr. Samuel D. Bernal, a Filipino-American regenerative medicine expert, medical oncologist, molecular biologist, chemist and a lawyer, calls on Filipinos here and abroad to patronize the technology we have here in the country.

“Very few know about it, but we can already actually culture or clone a human heart in the Philippines,” claimed by Dr. Bernal in a recent lecture he delivered recently at UST College of Medicine CME Auditorium before hundreds of University of Sto. Tomas scientists, professors, medical doctors and students.

During the lecture event, dubbed, “Future of Molecular Medicine,” Dr. Bernal discussed the beauty, art and importance of molecular medicine in addressing modern-day health problems such as cancer.

Dr. Bernal also talked about the state-of-the-art laboratory he has set up at the Medical City in Ortigas. “We already have the technology, the facility, and numerous experts trained abroad to do the procedures we thought can be accessible only by going to other advanced countries. Our efforts generate jobs for medical experts here, tempted to leave the country to work abroad. We are proud to say patients from other countries choose us over other facilities from other countries because not only are we at par with their services but we are also much affordable compared to treatments done in Germany or Singapore,” Dr. Bernal asserts.

The recipient of Presidential Awards for Filipino Individuals and Organizations Overseas conferred by President Benigno S. Aquino III and the Commission on Filipino Overseas (CFO), Dr. Bernal is an accomplished medical expert who finished his fellowship training in Cancer medicine and Cell Biology at Harvard Medical School not to mention his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He returned to the country to put-up a facility on regenerative medicine, molecular medicine laboratory for tumor profiling for drug resistance and sensitivity, and a comprehensive stem cell bank which collects babies’ umbilical cords for the family’s future use in treatment using stem cell technology.