Havana, June 18 (RHC)-- President Miguel Díaz-Canel attended the inauguration this weekend of the new and expanded headquarters for the Cuban Hematology and Immunology Institute.

“This has been the dream of many generations of scientists and health professionals,” said Institute director Dr. Consuelo Macías. She noted that the new premises enjoy a larger area and upgraded technology and infrastructure.

Dr. Macias said among the goals of the Hematology and Immunology Institute over the next five years will be lowering the incidence of acute leukemia in children.  She said they will also develop an umbilical cord cell bank that should assist in transplant innovation.

The Cuban Hematology and Immunology Institute was founded in  1966. The Institute's new premises are located in the downtown Havana municipality of Vedado. The inauguration was also attended by Vice President and Minister of Public Health Roberto Morales and by José Ramón Machado Ventura, Second Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party.