Manipal Hospital has successfully performed 60 Bone Marrow Transplants (BMT) in the last few years. Bone Marrow Transplant Survivors, share their experiences

Bangalore, Feb, 3, 2010 – To commemorate World Cancer Day, Manipal Hospital has organized an awareness program and an interactive session with Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Survivors to raise awareness on the BMT a potentially curative option for disease like blood cancers (Leukemia, Lymphomas) as well as for Thalassemia and bone marrow failure syndrome like Aplastic Anemia. The survivors were felicitated at the interactive session by noted Film Actress and Theatre Personality, Ms. Arundathi Nag. Manipal Hospital has done 60 BMTs successfully till date. Speaking at the press conference, Dr Ashish Dixit, Consultant, Medical Oncology & Hematology, Manipal Health Enterprises, said, “We could achieve this through advances in the treatment of cancer and improvements in supportive care which have improved the results and tolerability of BMT. This procedure has become safer and clinically applicable in a large number of diseases. Sibling donor is considered to be the best however there is only 30% chance of having a matched sibling in a family. Therefore, now, with the presence of international cell donor registries, it is easier to source matched unrelated donors as well. Unrelated transplants and mismatched transplant are being done all over the world with increasing success.”

“The chance of finding a match through international registries is approximately 50% only. Cord Blood Transplant, which yet other source donors, offers hope here since complete match may not be required. Cord blood banks have been established to have ready availability of cord stem cells for BMT purpose. However cord blood is used as source of stem cells only if matched sibling is not available as cord blood transplants are more complicated and risky.” Said, Dr. Amit Rauthan, Consultant, Medical Oncology, Manipal Health Enterprises.

Dr. Nagendra Swamy, President, Manipal Health Enterprises, said, “The patients who underwent Bone Marrow Transplant for various Cancer conditions at Manipal Hospital are now having good disease control. The patients who underwent BMT at Manipal Hospital are happy that they were able to fight a life threatening disorder with the help of MHB oncology and BMT team. BMT of this number on regular basis is a rare feet for any hospital. The availability of advanced BMT technique at our hospital has helped us to make them survive and live life normally.”

Dr. Sudarshan Ballal, Medical Director, Manipal Health Enterprises, said, “At present, India has 15-20 centers offering matched sibling Bone Marrow Transplants and we are proud to be one of them offering this rare service. Manipal Hospital has a tie-up with University of Minnesota Physicians (UMP) for the BMT programme which helps in maintaining the highest standards of clinical practice.”

Key Points:

Bone marrow Transplant is potentially curative option for disease like blood cancers (Leukemia, Lymphomas) as well as for Thalassemia and bone marrow failure syndrome like Aplastic Anemia.

Technique of BMT involves giving high dose chemotherapy to destroy old marrow and then infusing stem cells collected from donor or self for repopulating the bone marrow to produced blood cells.

Donor for BMT needs to be matched by doing some blood tests for HLA antigens. Sibling donors are best. Unrelated donor and cord blood are other sources of stem cells.
New stem cells can have reaction with the body called Graft versus Host Disease (GVHD) which requires treatment.

Donor Registries are operative for unrelated donor and cord blood for those who do not have matched sibling donor available.

BMT is not an experimental therapy but is an established scientific procedure.

Donors Registries - International bone marrow transplant registry, IBMTR and European group for bone marrow transplant, EBMT)