In this article we will continue discussing the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s views on the status and importance of acquisition of knowledge and technology. Stay tuned.

The Iranian researchers have successfully used stem cells in curing refractory illnesses. The stem cells are now being used in bone marrow transplants, hair and damaged tissues of heart. Royan Institute, which is a research and clinical center for infertility and reproductive health in Iran, has attained dazzling achievements especially in the field of infertility. Presently, the cloning of stem cells is being carried out at this institute which is a unique job.

Late Dr. Saeed Kazemi Ashtiani was the most important person in setting up the Royan Institute. This revolutionary youth gained spectacular breakthroughs in the domain of stem cells application. Ayatollah Khamenei says in this regard, “Dr. Saeed Kazemi Ashtiani, with his strenuous and inexhaustible effort and successful management ably founded a scientific institute in which seriously scientific research coupled with faith and piety are paid full attention to. The Royan Institute is a successful institute and a perfect and spectacular example of what one aspires. The reason why I was that interested in late Saeed Kazemi and now, too, I attach importance to and honour this dear youth in my mind and heart is the same thing. The manner he moved, the way he worked, his management and his pursuit were a perfect set of what one likes and aspires. Royan, too, with his assistance and other colleagues who were busy at Royan from the very first day, grew in this way and flourished in this manner. And I felt this from the very beginning.”

The Royan Institute has now gained fame and repute among world researchers and scientists in the domain of infertility and investigations on cellular system. The Leader of the Islamic Revolution says, “The Royan Institute has ample fields and capabilities for progress and this center is indeed the stem cell of the scientific move of the country; just as every scientist and researcher believing in the combination of “knowledge and faith” enjoys such a capacity.”

The Royan Institute has different sections. The Leader described the institute as a successful center and a bright result of the combination of “knowledge, faith and effort”.

Different sections of the Research Department of the Royan Institute include “stem cells” libraries and the section of “experimental embryology”. Researches are also conducted on transforming ordinary cells to stem cells and examining the transformation of stem cells into “insulin-producing, liver and nervous cells”. Furthermore, the researchers of the center examine on the distinction of the stem cells bone marrow among the elderly and turning them into bone and cartilage cells with the aim of treating bone and cartilage wastes (as in arthritis). Cloning is another scientific work which is carried out at the Royan Institute with the help of non-embryonic cells. One of the great advantages of the Royan Institute is the Umbilical Cord Blood Bank which is a very important section of the institute. The umbilical cord blood is a rich source of stem cells. The protection of this blood can help curing the incurable diseases which the child, his family or others may suffer from in the future.

Ayatollah Khamenei visited different parts of the Royan Institute including the infertility section. The performance of this section has met the global standards in terms of quality and quantity. During the Leader’s visit of the Royan Institute it was announced that over 70,000 Iranian infertile couples have so far been treated at the institute while hundreds of foreign couples have also been cured at the center.

It should be noted that gaining access to the science of stem cells, and that under tough inhumane sanctions, is considered as an honour for Islamic Iran. This science has been a great breakthrough and opened a new vista toward humankind. The Iranian scientists have used stem cells in curing trachea wastes, restoration of liver and cardio-vascular deficiencies. They have also sued this science in treating cornea implantation. Reparation of spinal and nervous wastes and bone cells are among other usages of the stem cells. The science of stem cells has already turned into an indigenous science in Iran and the Islamic Republic has been successful in producing clone animals such as goat, sheep and calf. Now the Islamic Republic is among the credited countries which have the ability of using stem cells for various purposes.

Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, expressing much content of the endeavours of the domestic researchers and scientists, said, “A few talented and enthusiastic youths pursued the stem cells with a little support from somewhere; and then you witnessed that they became among the prominent of the world. The issue of Nano-technology is just the same and also other issues. The issues related to missiles, whether the missiles of space and satellite-carriers or the military missiles, these are all the works that have been started somewhere by a group with enthusiasm and inclination. Then they saw the results. I’d like to say that the talent and ability are infinite throughout the country. We can go much more ahead than this. The effort of the colonialists to humiliate the Iranian nation and the feeling of inability and humility in the Iranian society has acted as a dam against using the huge repository of domestic talents for the recent centuries; but the honorable endeavours such as gaining access to the science of production, multiplication and refrigeration of stem cells breaks up these dams and takes Iran close to the phase of using its infinite human capacity.”

RM/ME