Bone marrow is found inside some of the bones of the human body, including thigh and hip bones. The sponge-like bone marrow tissue is responsible to produce red blood cell (RBC), white blood cell (WBC), and platelet which are the most important ingredients of blood. The essential feature is that the RBC carries oxygen through the body and makes the whole body and its different system in proper function. The WBC is the defense system of the body provides the immunity power to fight against damages and diseases. The platelet helps to clot the blood while the vessels are damaged causing blood flow out of the body. The supply of these particles can be stopped if the bone marrow is damaged or destroyed by any disease.
Bone Marrow Transplant in India
The bone marrow transplant is a surgical procedure that is used to replace the damaged bone marrow with that of a healthy one so that the body system can generate the blood cells normally. The procedure is highly complex and nurtured with hyper care. It is a privilege that India has become the host country of the bone marrow transplant to the many parts of the globe due to the presence of globally acclaimed world-class hospital infrastructure and highly experienced medical specialists that surpassed many developed countries.
Types of Bone Marrow Transplant
Following are the types of bone marrow transplant:
- Autologous Transplant:Patients in this transplant receive their own stem cells that taken out from their cord blood or peripheral for replenishing the bone marrow.
- Syngeneic Transplant: Stem cells are supplied from the patient’s identical twin.
- Allogeneic Transplant: Matching stem cells are supplied to the patient by their parents, siblings, or from an unrelated donor.
- Haploidentical Transplant:All most 70% of the patients are treated under this procedure where patients have no HLA-identical matching donor.
- Umbilical Cord Blood: It is a special type of allogeneic transplant. The umbilical cord of a just-born baby is removed right after birth and stored under frozen condition until it is required to transplant. No matching is needed in this case because the stem cells of umbilical cord are in animmature stage but it takes a longer time to recover.
Tests Required before Transplant
Following tests are required to be performed in order to assess the quantum of potential threat:
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- Variety of blood tests and tissue typing
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- Pulmonary function test
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- Heart function test and an electrocardiogram
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- Chest X-ray
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- CT or CAT scans
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- Bone marrow biopsy
- Skeletal survey
Apart from the above thorough dental examinations are required to minimize the risk of infections.
Cost of Bone Marrow Transplant in India
India has beaten all most all the countries in respect of the cost of bone marrow transplant and has become the affordable host country for this treatment. The cost of bone marrow transplant in India ranges between 9 lakhs and 35 lakhs. There are some other cheap options available for bone marrow transplant where the cost much less but the waiting time may exceed one month. Some trustees are there who fund for treatment of bone marrow transplant.
