Seoul National University Children's Hospital Supports 300 Billion Won for Pediatric Cancer and Rare Disease Treatment and Research from 'Lee Geon-hee Donation'

Photo by Seoul National University Children's Hospital

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] Seoul National University Children's Hospital announced on the 29th that it will support the diagnosis, treatment, and clinical research of domestic pediatric cancer and rare disease patients over 10 years until 2030 with a donation of 300 billion KRW received from the family of the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee.

The main projects include ▲ 150 billion KRW for supporting diagnosis and treatment of pediatric cancer patients ▲ 60 billion KRW for supporting diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases ▲ 90 billion KRW for research and infrastructure development for pediatric cancer and rare diseases.

First, the fund for supporting diagnosis and treatment of pediatric cancer patients will be used to cover expensive genomic testing fees and immunotherapy/targeted anticancer drug treatments that are not covered by health insurance benefits.

The fund for supporting diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases will be used for rare and emergency genomic testing, expensive gene therapy, and new drug treatments. It is known that more than 100,000 pediatric rare disease patients have spent years moving from hospital to hospital nationwide without receiving an accurate diagnosis, incurring enormous medical expenses. Support is urgent as many rare disease patients miss the timing for diagnosis and treatment, leading to death or severe sequelae.

The fund for research and infrastructure development for pediatric cancer and rare diseases will be used for joint clinical research such as diagnosis, treatment technology, and drug R&D. It will also be utilized to build databases and systems linking medical information on pediatric cancer and rare diseases from children's hospitals nationwide, as well as to establish diagnostic infrastructure.

To smoothly carry out these projects, Seoul National University Children's Hospital will launch the "Pediatric Cancer and Rare Disease Overcoming Task Force," involving children's medical institutions and medical staff nationwide. The task force will build a treatment and research platform related to pediatric cancer and rare diseases, activate joint research, and operate patient support programs.

The task force will be composed as a joint promotion system allowing participation from children's hospitals and related medical institutions nationwide, and under the committee, individual departments will be established for practical promotion of pediatric cancer, rare disease, and joint research projects.

Kim Han-seok, Director of Seoul National University Children's Hospital (also serving as Task Force Leader), expressed gratitude, saying, "Since pediatric diseases are diverse but patient numbers are small, a system where children's medical institutions nationwide cooperate is necessary to improve medical quality. We expect the donation from the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee's family to serve as a catalyst for establishing such a system."

The task force plans to announce the first research projects and call for participating hospitals in October after organizing the structure and appointing participating committee members.