Mumbai: Fortis Hospital in Mulund has marked the completion of 100 bone marrow transplants (BMT) in the 12-70 age group. Though on a steady rise in India, the current figure of 2,500 BMTs every year is only 10% of the total requirement.
Advocating for a less expensive treatment plan, health experts cited lack of awareness about options, limited access, and lack of timely diagnosis as possible hurdles. To address these challenges and bridge the gap in treatment access, the Institute of Blood Disorders was established at Fortis Hospital in Mulund, where a team headed by haematology department director Dr Subhaprakash Sanyal spearheaded a series of successful BMTs.
The treatment is recommended for patients afflicted with various blood disorders such as multiple myeloma, lymphoma, leukaemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, myelofibrosis, aplastic anaemia, to name a few. It’s a complex and critical treatment to infuse healthy blood-forming stem cells into the patient’s body to replace diseased or malfunctioning bone marrow.
Fortis Hospital has performed a spectrum of BMTs, ranging from haploidentical (half-matched) to unrelated transplants. Advanced medical management techniques, tailored to the individual needs of each patient, were deployed, particularly for elderly patients. These included reduced intensity conditioning and precise stem cell collection for greater success and reduced complications.
Dr Sanyal said that the hospital has also treated patients from Kenya, Tanzania and Bangladesh. He said that a holistic approach and several awareness programmes has helped them reduce the treatment gap and allowed them to reach a greater number of patients.
Dr Vishal Beri, facility director at Fortis, said that awareness about blood cancer and timely intervention opens up various treatment options and results in better survival rate.
