A bone marrow transplant is an effective treatment for many conditions like thalassemia and aplastic anemia and there needs to be greater awareness among people and doctors about its benefits, haematologists in the city said.
Compared to India’s west and south, the number of bone marrow transplants is fewer in Calcutta and the east, said Rajib De, a professor at the department of haematology at the NRS Medical College and Hospital, last week.
Seven hospitals in Bengal have bone marrow transplant facilities, while over 110 hospitals across the country offer such facilities.
A meeting comprising doctors associated with bone marrow transplants, heldlast week, vowed to advocate and spread awareness so that more transplants can bedone in the city and in eastern India.
“All the hospitals here have been working separately and on their own. In the conference, doctors who have been associated with bone marrow transplants decided to have better coordination among them and handhold newer units that set up bone marrow transplant facilities,” De said.
Such a transplant becomes necessary when the bone marrow stops working or does not produce enough healthy blood cells.
A hospital conducting bone marrow transplants needs to have multiple departments, including departments of microbiology, radiotherapy and haematology.
Before a transplant is undertaken, a whole body radiotherapy is necessary to destroy the old bone marrow, which is why a radiotherapy department is required, a doctor said.
After the transplant, the role of microbiologists becomes very important because patients who undergo the transplant remain immunocompromised and may catch many infections till the new bone marrow develops.
“Suppose one hospital does not have one of the necessary departments, then doctors of the missing department from a neighbouring hospital could pitch in and help conduct the bone marrow transplant. If we are able to do this, a lot of patients will benefit and they will not need to travel to other parts of the country,” Desaid.
Pit Baran Chakraborty, principal of NRS hospital, where bone marrow transplants are done, said there has to be greater awareness among people and doctors.
“We will focus on raising awareness about the benefits of the transplant,” he said.
A doctor said awareness campaigns were necessary because people think bonemarrow transplant is a very costly treatment.
“It is true that the initial cost is very high. We have to start discussions on how the initial cost can be reduced. But if one compares this with other forms of treatment, like repeated chemotherapy and blood transfusions, then the actual cost is less,” said the doctor.
The patient can start functioning normally post the recovery phase that follows the transplant, the doctor said.