CHENNAI: The Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) in Chennai has resumed bone marrow transplants almost a year after they were stopped due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Dean of RGGGH Dr E Theranirajan said a bone marrow transplant is an expensive procedure and would cost several lakhs in private facilities but at RGGGH, it was being done for free under the Chief Minister’s Health Insurance Scheme.
A 44-year-old suffering from multiple myeloma, admitted on February 2, was successfully discharged on March 1, following treatment for tautologic hematopoietic stem cell transplant.
Doctors said that the department of Clinical Haematology has done transplants for more than 20 patients at the RGGGH, after the speciality was inaugurated in 2018.
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (also called bone marrow transplantation) involves intravenous infusion of stem cells to re-establish proper formation and function in patients whose bone marrow or immune system is damaged or defective due to various acquired or inherited cancerous disorders.
These include blood cancers, genetic diseases associated with abnormal production and function such as thalassemia, sickle cell anaemia and severe combined immunodeficiency.
Doctors said that two more patients are getting transplants while many more patients are waiting.