BHUBANESWAR: The Haematology Department of SCB Medical College and Hospital (SCBMCH) at Cuttack has notched up a record of sorts and achieved a new milestone in the country by performing 50 bone marrow transplantations in just over three years.
The special Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) unit started in February 2014 has conducted its 50th procedure on Bishnupriya Nayak (40), a cancer patient from Koelnagar in Rourkela, on Sunday.
Head of the department Prof Rabindra Kumar Jena said it is a significant achievement as SCBMCH having all state-of-the-art facilities is the only State-run hospital in the country to complete 50 cases and provide BMT services completely free of cost.
“We have a great record of survival rate of patients than other such units elsewhere in the country. Of 50 cases conducted so far, 47 patients are healthy and doing normal activities. Two died due to infection within a month after BMT procedure, another succumbed to brain stroke (not related to BMT or disease) on 178th day,” he said.
The BMT unit at SCBMCH has also established a few international and national distinctions. The eldest transplant conducted so far in Asia and Europe region belonged to the unit. Zabar Khan (74), who was suffering from multiple myeloma (a type of blood cancer) is doing fine after the procedure was performed.
Similarly, five patients, aged over 65, have been transplanted successfully which is first-of-its-kind in India, Asia and Europe. The first BMT, also known as stem cell transplant, was performed on Sakuntala Sahoo (54) from Kendrapara district on April 23, 2014.
The unit has also mobilised the stem cell adequately in many complicated blood cancer patients who had very low stem cell blood level of 8.7 per micro litre, besides multiple chemotherapy treated cases and successfully performed BMT procedures.
Stating that the priority is being given on adequate stem cell mobilization, collection and engraftment (proper functioning of new bone marrow graft), Prof Jena said the unit is going to start allogenic BMT soon.
“We have been doing autologous transplants so far. Our next plan is to start allogenic transplants. We are poised to take complicated cancer patients for BMT. Besides, plans are afoot to expand the unit to a 20-room ward to accommodate huge waiting lists patients, including thalassemia, sickle sell disease and various cancer patients,” he added.