Apollo Hospitals completes 1,500 bone marrow transplants

Chennai: Eight-year-old Chirag Chandra was suffering from Thalassemia since birth and was dependent on blood transfusions. After various medications and consultations, it was found that stem cell transplant could treat Chirag. Having found a donor from Germany, doctors performed peripheral stem cell transplant on him and now after about one and a half year, Chirag is completely cured and doing well academically.

A sub-inspector by profession, Manimegalai was shocked to know from doctors after seven months of pregnancy that her child was suffering from a type of blood cancer. Her pregnancy was critical and the newborn was only 1.5 kg in weight when born. Stemcell transplant was the only solution and the child underwent seven stages of chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant. The child is now six-year-old and is all hale and healthy.

It is not only the Indian patients that have been benefited due to stem cell transplants, but also people from foreign countries like Oman, Bangladesh, Srilanka, Tanzania, Dubai, UAE, and Mauritius have undergone bone marrow transplants at Apollo Hospitals. The hospital announced completion of 1,500 bone marrow transplants all over the country on Wednesday, of which more than 60 per cent of them were performed in Tamil Nadu.

Bone marrow transplantation saves the lives of patients with blood cancer and serious blood disorders like thalassemia major, aplastic anemia and primary immune deficiency. Apollo Hospitals performed the India's first cord blood transplant and unrelated transplant in 1998.

“For us, this number is just one milestone on our journey of healing. Though we have come a long way from the first successful BMT at Apollo in 1995, there are many more patients who are in need of bone marrow transplant. It is extremely important that people come forward for bone marrow donation and help save more lives,” said executive chairman of Apollo Hospitals, Dr Prathap C Reddy.