All About Bone Marrow Transplantation

Bone marrow consists of the soft, fatty tissue present in the bones of humans, which produces blood cells. Immature cells, called stem cells are present in the bone marrow which is responsible for the production of different types of cells. Diseases such as lymphoma, aplastic anaemia, and leukaemia can cause severe damage to the bone marrow and result in abnormal red and white blood corpuscle production. The procedure to replace damaged bone marrow with healthy bone marrow stem cells is called bone marrow transplant. An allogenic bone marrow transplant is the process of extracting stem cells from a donor, whose genes partly match the patient’s genes and inserting them into the patient’s body in order to promote the growth of healthy bone marrow.

Medanta-The Medicity is one of the best allogenic bone marrow transplant hospitals in India, with NABH, NABL and JCI accreditations. The hospital, based in Gurgaon, was founded in 2009 and has been awarded Best Multispecialty Hospital by Asia’s First Bloodless Bone Marrow Transplant HealthCare Global Enterprises (HCG) in 2010. The hospital contains 6 Centres of Excellence, namely Heart Institute, Institution of Neurosciences, Bone & Joint Institute, Kidney & Urology Institute, Cancer Institute and Division of Medical Oncology and Haematology. With the advent of world-class cutting-edge technology, state of the art infrastructure and highly experienced doctors, the process of bone marrow transplant has become a reality.

The benefits of bone marrow transplant are that the treatment rejuvenates the body with new and healthy stem cells after undergoing radiation. The new cells also destroy any remaining cancer cells and the graft rejection risk decreases. Coupled with the high-quality cancer care provided by various hospitals across India widens the spectrum of survival rate.

Other allogenic bone marrow transplant hospitals India which provide best stem cell transplants include Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, Artemis Hospital, Seven Hills Hospital, KokilabenDhirubhaiAmbani Hospital, Fortis Hospital, Aster Medicity, Jaslok Hospital and Wockhardt Hospital. Indraprastha Apollo has ranked first in Oncology in the Times of India Healthcare Survey 2016. These hospitals also house brilliant medical institutes that offer top-notch training programs for hospital staff and students to keep them abreast with any new technology that is launched. Furthermore, they focus on research and development for the betterment of their existing technologies.

In allogeneic bone marrow transplant surgeries, the bone marrow is extracted from the donor’s hip bones. Then the donor is given medication to strengthen white blood cell count, after which the stem cells are transferred through a thin tube in the vein to the blood. After that, an IV (intravenous) line is used to remove the blood of the donor. A catheter separates the white blood cells from the donor’s blood to give them to the patient.

However, bone marrow transplant also has its cons. The risks that accompany include stem cell failure, organ damage, graft-vs-host disease, uncontrolled bleeding, infertility, and fatality. However, over the years, the risks have reduced due to exponential development in this field. Indian hospitals are instrumental in providing the required cancer care.