Dr. N. K. Venkataramana, Vice-Chairman, BGS Global Hospitals said, “BGS Global Hospitals has achieved one more milestone with the commissioning of the Bone Marrow Transplantation (BMT) facility. The state of the art Cancer facility with organ specific treatment approach, equipped with advanced technology, emphasizes on high quality patient care and safety. With the addition of BMT, another feather in the cap, the organ specific cancer treatment services at BGS Global Cancer Institute have now become even more comprehensive”.
Dr. Ganesha Dev Vashishtha, Chief Medical Oncologist and BMT Physician, BGS Global Hospitals elaborating on the facility stated, “The hospital is equipped to perform Autologous BMT, (using patient’s own stem cells), Allogenic BMT (stem cells from matching donor, ideally siblings used) and umbilical cord stem cell transplant. BMT is generally performed for diseases like Thalassemia, Aplastic Anaemia, Blood Cancers, Multiple Myeloma, Lymphomas, etc.”
“The incidence of blood cancers is about 4,00,000 (four lakh) new cases per year worldwide. Acute leukemia strikes those in the younger age group of less than 20 years. In a majority of these life threatening cases, Bone Marrow transplantation is the only hope for cure.”
“BGS Global Hospitals also offers Mini Transplant which is a boon to elderly patients who are left with no other option other than BMT. The elderly patients find it difficult to tolerate the regular transplant. Mini Transplant involves giving low dose chemotherapy followed by the transplant.”
About Bone Marrow Transplant
BMT is a procedure to replace damaged or destroyed bone marrow with healthy bone marrow stem cells. Bone Marrow is responsible for the production of Red Blood Corpuscles, White Blood Corpuscles and platelets. It involves the following steps:
1. Stem cells are mobilized from the Bone Marrow into the peripheral blood by giving the donor Granulocyte Stimulating Factors as subcutaneous injections.
2. These stem cells are harvested from the donor with the help of a cell separator over 3 days.
3. Two days later a high dose of chemotherapy is given to the patient.
4. Then the cryopreserved stem cells are thawed and reinfused into the patient intravenously. These stem cells find their way from the blood to the bone marrow and help in re-establishing the bone marrow function.
Patient benefits:
• BMT may completely cure leukemia
• It is a nonsurgical procedure
• One can be back to work in few months
• Minimal pain and discomfort
• Longer and better quality of life
Patient’s case: Berun Sangma hailing from Meghalaya, 55 years old was diagnosed as having multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer in Dec 2011. He had symptoms of severe continuous pain in the hip and lower back which crippled him, he could not walk and sitting down was also painful.
He was treated with chemotherapy for 6 months. As per the standard practice such patients who show good response to treatment, autologous BMT is advised. He was admitted to BGS Global on 6th August 2012 for bone marrow transplant.
After 4 days of medication (growth factors), he was put on a cell separator for 6 to 8 hours each for threedays and the haematopoetic stemcells were harvested and cryopreserved at -70 to -80 degree centigrade.
On the 8th day of admission he was given high dose chemotherapy to destroy any residual disease. Two days following the high dose chemotherapy, the cryopreserved and thawed stem cells were reinfused into the patient intravenously.
All along the patient stayed in the BMT room and was given supportive care which included blood and platelet transfusions, antibiotics, antifungals, etc. Blood counts and chemistries were performed every day. He was given 3 units of platelets and 4 -5 units of packed red cells. All were irradiated before transfusion. His blood count started improving steadily from the 11th day and became normal at the time of discharge after a total of 22 days stay in the hospital.
The patient was advised to take some precautions to avoid infection including eating hot, freshly cooked food for every meal. He has now regained his health and will be able to get back to work in about a week’s time.
About BGS Global Hospitals:
BGS Global Hospitals is part of the Global Hospitals Group which is one of the fast growing chains of mulit-super speciality tertiary care hospitals in India with Hospitals in Hyderabad, Chennai and soon in Mumbai.
Leaders in multi-organ transplant services, the Global Hospitals Group offers cutting edge medical & surgical solutions with a large team of dedicated professionals, world class facilities and technologies, all aligned to deliver seamless medical, paramedical, social and psychological support with exceptional patient care.
BGS Global Hospitals is a 500 bed tertiary care multi-super speciality facility. Built with international standards, the Hospital is manned by some of the foremost names across specialties.
