First pediatric matched sibling donor Bone Marrow Transplant completed at KMIO, Bengaluru

KMIO offers BMTs almost free of cost, making critical treatments accessible to vulnerable populations.
Surgery. Image used for representational purpose
Surgery. Image used for representational purpose
Updated on
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BENGALURU: State-run Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology (KMIO) on Friday successfully completed the first paediatric matched sibling donor Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) on a 14-year-old patient. Archana (name changed), suffering from Acute Myeloid Leukemia (type of blood cancer), was admitted to Kidwai about two months ago. Her cancer was refractory, resistant to conventional chemotherapy and had a very high chance of relapse. Luckily for the teenager, her younger brother was a complete genetic match (12/12 HLA match).

Dr Vasundhara Kailasnath, paediatric BMT physician, and team at Kidwai made a decision to treat her with a high dose of chemotherapy, followed by Allogeneic BMT, using stem cells from her younger brother.

Discharging the patient in the presence of Archana’s parents and doctors, Medical Education & Skill Development Minister Dr Sharan Prakash Patil said the patient has successfully undergone BMT and is currently disease-free and discharged. He added that stem cell transplantations are mainly 2 types – Autologous (patient’s own stem cells used) and Allogeneic BMT (donor stem cells given to recipient).

“Usually, in private hospitals, the cost of Autologous transplant ranges from Rs 7-15 lakh and Allogeneic BMT costs about Rs 15-30 lakh. KMIO has been successful in providing these BMTs almost free of cost to patients by utilizing Prime Minister’s Relief Fund, Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF), SCP/TSP scheme, ESI and CGHS schemes,” Dr Patil said.

N Manjushree, KMIO administrator, noted that the need of the hour is to make BMT services easily available, accessible and affordable to the diseased and vulnerable population of the state.

Archana’s father is a daily wage labourer and her mother is a factory worker, whose Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) scheme was utilized for her cancer treatment.

The first paediatric BMT at KMIO was performed in April 2022. Since then, 90 paediatric and adult BMTs have been successfully completed.

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