His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday, accompanied by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, inaugurated the new buildings of the King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC), which increase its capacity from 173 to 352 beds and incorporate the latest technology in cancer treatment.

The two new buildings, with an area of 84,700 square metres, increase the total area of the KHCC to 108,700 square metres.

Their Majesties, accompanied by Her Royal Highness Princess Ghida Talal, chairperson of the board of trustees of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation and Center, toured a number of departments at the new KHCC buildings.

Their Majesties were briefed on the latest technical and medical specifications adopted to serve patients.

During the tour, Their Majesties also checked on a number of patients receiving treatment at the KHCC, and visited the children’s playroom.

The new Inpatient Building, named in honour of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, consists of 13 floors, housing 179 beds, along with an expanded diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy unit, an integrated bone marrow transplant unit, adult and paediatric ICU rooms, as well as paediatric and adult-dedicated sections and patient suites.

The new Outpatient Building, named after His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, consists of 10 floors and can accommodate up to 250,000 visits annually.

This building includes the Khalid Shoman Educational Center, an integrated healthcare centre for women, a comprehensive medical centre for children, a cell therapy centre, and an applied genomics laboratory that will significantly advance the cancer research conducted by the KHCC.

The Outpatient Building also features the first public umbilical cord blood and stem cell bank, as well as multidisciplinary clinics. As a result, the KHCC will be able to conduct 300 bone marrow transplants annually, making it one of the largest bone marrow transplant centres in the region.

At the inauguration ceremony, Princess Ghida expressed her appreciation to King Abdullah for supporting the journey of the KHCC, which stands today, 16 years after its founding, as "Jordan's medical jewel", featuring state-of-the-art cancer treatment technology.

Her Royal Highness said the KHCC began its mission in 2001 with a board of trustees that gave time and expertise in the pursuit of excellence.

After 10 years of dedicated efforts to ensure the best treatment for patients, there was a pressing need to launch the expansion project in order to accommodate the increasing number of cancer patients, according to Princess Ghida.

The KHCC, Her Royal Highness continued, represents the legacy of His Majesty the late King Hussein, the vision of King Abdullah, and the pride of Jordan.

During the ceremony, a short video about the KHCC was screened, highlighting the centre’s history and His Majesty’s role in supporting it.

The KHCC is the first comprehensive centre in the region to be accredited by the Joint Commission International. It is also accredited by the College of American Pathologists.

During the ceremony, the King honoured a number of institutions, organisations and individuals who contributed to the completion of the two new buildings.

The Saudi Fund for Development, the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, and the family of the late Nizar Al Naqeeb were honoured in recognition of their donations to the KHCC.

The old KHCC building now carries the name of Naqeeb, an Iraqi philanthropist, in homage to his contributions to the KHCC.

Their Royal Highnesses Prince Talal bin Muhammed, the King’s special adviser; Prince Hussein bin Talal bin Muhammed; Princess Rajaa bint Talal bint Muhammed; and Prince Muhammed bin Talal bin Muhammed; as well as Their Highnesses Prince Mired bin Raad and Princess Dina Mired attended the inauguration ceremony.

Prime Minister Hani Mulki, Director of the Office of His Majesty Jafar Hassan, Royal Hashemite Court Secretary General Yousef Issawi, and a number of senior officials and ambassadors in Jordan were also in attendance.

The new KHCC buildings will increase the number of inpatient admissions to 14,000 cases annually, and will enable it to accommodate 7,000 new cases annually.

Moreover, the new buildings increase the number of operating theatres to 13 rooms equipped with the latest advanced technologies. They also feature specialised rooms for critical and complex neural surgeries. The number of specialised intensive care units has also increased to 36 units.