New company acquires organ-transplant test lab

Hawaii Cellular Therapy and Transplant Laboratory acquired ownership Tuesday of a tissue-typing and cell processing lab for the state’s only stem cell transplant program at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children.

The newly formed company, a subsidiary of the Hawaii Cord Blood Bank, purchased the laboratory for about $200,000 from Clinical Labs of Hawaii.

The lab will provide tests necessary for the operation of the state’s only solid-organ transplant program as well as for Legacy of Life Hawaii, an organ and tissue recovery program.

All 12 Clinical Lab specialists will transfer to Hawaii Cellular Therapy.

"We have supported the organ transplant program since 1995 with the state’s only Immunogenetics Lab," Ally Park, president of Clinical Labs, said in a statement. "Without it, there would not be an organ transplant program in Hawaii as the lab is critical in matching donors and recipients."

While operating the lab is no longer part of its business plan, Clinical Labs said it wanted to ensure that these services were still available in the community.

The tissue-typing component of the lab will be transferred to Hawaii Cellular Therapy at cost, and Clinical Labs is donating nearly $50,000 worth of equipment from the cell processing program, the company said.

Cell processing supports cancer treatment for children at Kapiolani, and the continuation of the program will help improve treatment for conditions such as diabetes, scleroderma, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.