Kidwai Hospital performs first paediatric allogeneic bone marrow transplant

Bengaluru: State-run Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology (KMIO) on Friday completed the first successful paediatric allogeneic bone marrow transplant (BMT) on a 14-year-old patient. 

Archana (name changed), who suffered from Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, a type of blood cancer, was admitted to the hospital about two months ago. The cancer was resistant to conventional chemotherapy and had a very high chance of relapse. 

A team headed by paediatric BMT physician Dr Vasundhara Kailasnath decided to treat her with a high dose of chemotherapy followed by an allogeneic bone marrow transplant using stem cells from Archana's younger brother, who was found to be a complete genetic match. 

Archana's mother's Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) scheme was utilised for her cancer treatment. Her mother is a factory worker, while her father is a daily wage labourer. 

Dr Sharan Prakash Patil, Minister for Medical Education and Skill Development, who discharged the patient on Friday, noted that the cost of an allogeneic BMT usually ranges between Rs 15 to Rs 30 lakh in private hospitals. 

"KMIO has been successful in providing these BMTs at almost free of cost to patients by utilising the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund (PMRF), Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF), SCP/TSP scheme, ESI and Central Government Health Schemes," he said.

KMIO has India’s largest state-run bone marrow transplant unit with a 14-bedded facility, including an ICU. The first paediatric bone marrow transplant at KMIO was conducted in April 2022 and 90 paediatric and adult BMTs have been successfully completed since then. 

What is allogeneic transplant?

Allogeneic transplant is a procedure in which a patient receives healthy blood-forming cells (stem cells) from a donor to replace her/his own stem cells that have been destroyed by treatment with radiation or high doses of chemotherapy.