Bone marrow transplant-BMT is a medical procedure done for replacing faulty bone marrow in a person either from a donor ( Allogenic bone marrow transplant) or from the patient himself ( Autologous bone marrow transplant) . Bone marrow transplant is also termed as stem cell transplant. Bone marrow transplants are done for several malignant ( cancerous ) as well as non malignant ( non cancerous ) medical conditions in both adults and pediatric patients. At CMCS Health , we are associated with best Indian pediatric and adult hematologists/bone marrow transplant ( BMT ) specialist doctors for cost effective Bone Marrow Transplant-BMT in India.
What is bone marrow or stem cell transplant ?
Bone marrow or stem cell transplant is a procedure , performed to replace faulty or diseased bone marrow in a person with healthy bone marrow stem cells. Bone marrow is the place where the red blood cells or erythrocytes , white blood cells or leukocytes and platelets or thrombocytes are produced. Bone marrow transplant is needed for medical conditions where the bone marrow is not able to produce adequate and normal blood cells.
Stem cells are undifferentiated biological cells that can develop in differentiated biological cells. Bone marrow transplants are life-saving medical interventions for saving the lives of people suffering from abnormal and damaged bone marrow stem cells, giving rise to diseased medical conditions which can be both malignant or cancerous and nonmalignant or noncancerous.
Bone Marrow transplants in India | Best Indian BMT doctors :
CMCS Health along with their associated best Indian hematologist and BMT specialists at most well equipped and well managed Best dedicated Indian BMT hospitals to provide comprehensive and cost-effective bone marrow transplant in India for blood disorders including the malignant ( cancerous ) or non malignant ( benign ) medical conditions.offer successful cost-effective bone marrow transplant in India for medical travelers seeking bone marrow transplant in India.
Types of Bone marrow transplant performed in India:
There are three basic types of bone marrow transplant ( BMT ) performed in India for medical travelers seeking bone marrow transplant in India | best Indian BMT doctors.
1. Allogenic Bone marrow transplant ( BMT ) :
Allogenic bone marrow transplant requires a donor with healthy bone marrow tissues. Allogenic bone marrow transplant may be further subdivided on account of donor's HLA match with recipient.
- 100 % HLA matching or Identical , real brother or sister of the recipient donor bone marrow transplant .
- HAPLO Identical or half HLA matched donor that could be either of parents , bone marrow transplant .
- MUD is matching unrelated donor to recipient bone marrow transplant.
2. Autologous Bone marrow transplant ( BMT ) :
Autologous bone marrow transplant involves taking disease free bone marrow tissues from the recipient only, post chemotherapy remission phase.
3. Umbilical cord blood transplant in India :
Stem cells are taken from an umbilical cord immediately after delivery of an infant. These stem cells reproduce into mature, functioning blood cells.
Umbilical cord blood is obtained from the umbilical cord and placenta of an infant, donated by her mother post-childbirth. Cord blood has a higher concentration of stem cells than is normally found in adult blood, but the small quantity of blood obtained from an umbilical cord (typically about 50 ml) makes it more suitable for transplantation into small children than into adults.
Why a bone marrow transplant ( BMT ) is needed:
Bone marrow transplant is needed when a patient's own bone marrow fails to produce normal and adequate red blood cells , white blood cells and platelets. Bone marrow or stem cell transplants are used when:
- Bone marrow is damaged or non functioning
- Regenerate a new immune system
- Replace the bone marrow and restore its normal function called rescue process
- Replace bone marrow with genetically healthy functioning bone marrow
How stem cell / bone marrow is collected from a donor ?
Healthy Bone marrow/stem cells are collected from a donor for a bone marrow transplant. Stem cells are collected either from the peripheral blood of a donor called peripheral blood stem cell collection or stem cell harvesting (taken directly from the bone marrow ).
Peripheral stem cell collection (Leukapheresis):
For peripheral stem cell collection, the donor is injected with granulocytes colony-stimulating factor ( G-CSF ) injections before donation. These injections are given for 4 to 5 days before donation, stimulating the bone marrow of the donor to produce more of the granulocytes and force them to come to the bloodstream. These stem cells are then easily collected from the bloodstream. The white blood cells ( leukocytes ) containing stem cells are separated from other blood cells and preserved, later to be transplanted to the recipient. whereas the remaining blood components are injected back to the donor.
Bone marrow harvesting :
Bone marrow harvesting involves a small surgical intervention and is done by admitting the donor in hospital either on day care basis or for one day. It is done under anesthesia. Bone marrow is collected from rear of the pelvic bone near the hip joint with the help of a needle. The bone marrow is extracted with a syringe. There is no surgery involved just puncturing of skin to insert the needle for collection of bone marrow. The puncture on skin is then covered with sterile bandage post the collection of bone marrow.
Bone marrow transplant in India | Best Indian BMT doctors for various medical conditions:
Blood Cancers or Hematological malignancies requiring bone marrow transplants are :
Blood cancers or hematological malignancies are the cancer of bone marrow, blood cells, and associated lymph nodes. Classification of blood cancers for deciding about treatment course and treatment outcome is done on grounds of the type of blood cell involved. At CMCS Health, we offer cost-effective bone marrow transplant in India | Best Indian BMT doctors for blood cancer treatments in India.
- Acute lymphocytic or lymphoblastic leukemia ( ALL)
Acute lymphocytic leukemia is cancer of bone marrow and white blood cells ( Lymphocytes). ALL affects children more than younger adults , and children have a higher recovery rate post-treatment as compared to adult patients. Allogenic bone marrow transplant is a treatment option for ALL.
- Acute Myeloid or Myelogenous Leukemia ( AML )
Acute myeloid leukemia is also a cancer of bone marrow and myeloblastic cells including red blood cells and platelets. AML affects elderly people more but can occur in children too. AML occurs in immature blood cells called blast cells. The blast cells could be red blood cells, platelets, and white blood cells. Allogenic Bone marrow transplant is considered a viable treatment option for AML, apart from chemotherapy and targeted drug therapy.
- Multiple Myeloma
Multiple myeloma is a type of blood cancer that affects the plasma cells. Multiple myeloma generally affects elder people above the age of 65 years. Multiple myeloma treatment involves chemotherapy , supportive care , in some cases surgery and autologous bone marrow transplant.
- Lymphomas ( refractory and relapsed Non-Hodgkin's and Hodgkin's lymphoma )
Lymphoma is uncontrolled , abnormal growth of lymphocytes . Lymphomas affect the lymphatic system of body ( our inherent defence mechanism against infections entering our body ). Lymphomas can be broadly classified as Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma and Hodgkin's lymphoma. They can affect both adults and children. Chemotherapy along with bone marrow transplant in certain cases are treatments for refractory and relapsed lymphomas.
- POEMS syndrome
POEMS syndrome is a rare multisystem blood disorder that damages the nerves and other organs of the body. POEMS syndrome includes polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, and skin changes. Management of POEMS syndrome includes chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and possibly a bone marrow transplant.
- Neuro-blastoma
Neuroblastoma is a cancer that affects immature nerve cells primarily in adrenal glands and can also develop in neck , chest , stomach , bones and pelvic region. Children around five years of age or younger are the most affected with neuroblastoma. Treatments may involve surgery , chemotherapy and in certain cases radiation therapy and bone marrow transplants.
- Ewing sarcoma
Ewing sarcoma is a cancer of bones and soft tissues such as cartilages and nerves. It affects children and young adults. Treatment depends on the size of the tumor, spread, and overall health of the patient. Treatments of Ewing sarcoma include chemotherapy, surgery, radiation therapy, and in certain cases bone marrow transplant.
- Myelodysplastic syndrome
Myelodysplastic syndrome is a group of disorders arising because of poorly formed or non functional blood cells. If not treated in time it can gradually grow into leukemia. Treatment involves blood transfusions and medications to boost blood cell production. In certain situations, a bone marrow transplant is needed.
Non Cancerous medical conditions requiring bone marrow transplants are :
- Aplastic anemia
Aplastic anemia is a medical condition where the damaged bone marrow in a patient fails to produce an adequate number of normal blood cells. Treatment involves blood transfusions, medication, and an allogeneic bone marrow transplant to replace the damaged bone marrow.
- Fanconi anemia
Fanconi anemia is a rare genetic disorder affecting the bone marrow. Fanconi anemia is the most common form of inherited Aplastic anemia. Stem cell or bone marrow transplant is the standard treatment for Fanconi anemia.
- Sickle cell disease
Sickle cell disease or sickle cells anemia is a inherited blood disorder affecting production of normal red blood cells. Normal red blood cells are circular , disk shaped and flexible but in sickle cell patients , they become crescent or half moon shaped. Sickle cell disease is very common in African countries. Sickle cell disease treatment involves allogenic bone marrow transplant.
- Thalassemia
Thalassemia is another inherited blood disorder where the patient's body is unable to produce a protein called hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is an important component of red blood cells. A milder form of thalassemia does not require any treatment but severe forms may require a frequent blood transfusion, iron chelation therapy, or allogenic bone marrow transplant.
- Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is a disease affecting the central nervous system, consisting of the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves. In multiple sclerosis body's defense mechanisms start destroying the protective sheath (myelin) that covers nerve fibers and causes communication problems between the brain and the rest of the body. In some cases of multiple sclerosis, an autologous bone marrow transplant can slow the progression of the disease.
- Immune deficiency syndrome
An immune deficiency syndrome or disorder is body's inability to defend it against pathogens. It could be both inherited or secondary. Treatment of immune deficiency syndrome or disorder involves usage of antibiotics to control the bacterial infections , antiviral drugs to control viral infections and administration of immunoglobulin to strengthen the body against frequent infections. If these conservative methods fail ,and patient's body is not able to produce adequate lymphocytes a bone marrow/stem cell transplant is a viable treatment option.
Solid tumors , where bone marrow transplant can be useful :
Certain refractory solid tumors like kidney cancers, ovarian and even colon cancers can be better treated with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (allo-HSCT) along with reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC).
The use of allogenic hemopoietic stem cell transplant with reduced intensity conditioning chemotherapy regimens or non-myeloablative regimens can be a feasible option among fragile patients, such as geriatric patients and patients with comorbidities.
We are associated with Best Hematologist and Bone Marrow Transplant doctors in India. A bone marrow transplant requires a highly upgraded and well-equipped medical center as the risk of life-threatening infections is high with BMT procedures. At CMCS Health, we have selected the best Indian BMT hospitals which are well equipped and well managed for risk-free BMT procedures for Global medical travelers to India.
Cost of bone marrow transplant in India :
India is one of the few countries in world that are offering cost-effective bone marrow transplants with globally at par success rates. Cost of bone marrow transplant in India depends on type of bone marrow transplant and donor type .
Allogenic BMT with an HLA identical real brother or sister: USD 22000 - 28000.
Allogenic HAPLO ( Half matched ) BMT with either of the parents: USD 34000 - 38000
Allogenic MUD ( matching unrelated donor ) BMT : USD 38'000 - 54'000
The cost of MUD BMT varies depending on the bone marrow registry from where an unrelated donor is found.
Autologous bone marrow transplant : USD 18000 - 24000
What patients and attendants need to know about Bone Marrow Transplant in India :
Like any other organ transplant, bone marrow transplants may be associated with serious risks; the treating doctors will help the patient and attendant in considering the pros and cons of going for a bone marrow transplant. BMT is a life-saving condition for many patients. The selection of a suitable donor is very important for the success of BMT. HLA tests determine how the antigens of the recipient's stem cells match to antigens of the donor's stem cell. The higher the number of matching HLA antigens, the greater are chances of the recipient's body accepting the donor stem cells. Close relatives like brothers and sisters of the recipient have better chances of matching HLA antigens and thereby successful BMT procedures as compared to a non-related donor.
What is the ideal time to do BMT for patients :
The ideal time to do BMT with a high success rate is when the disease is in remission ( The signs and symptoms are not present, usually after completion of chemotherapy cycles) and in the early stage of disease, in children and generally good health of the patient.
Post Bone Marrow Transplant care and management:
Chemotherapy-induced hepatotoxicity, conditioning-induced neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia, resulting in infections, bleeding, and mucositis is major complications of the BMT procedure.
Guest Vs host disease is a major and common complication of allogeneic BMTs. GVSD is the start of rejection of newly grafted bone marrow from a donor due to the donor's T lymphocytes.
Within approximately 4 weeks of BMT, signs of engraftment start appearing. When the patient is found free of any complications and fit to be discharged post successful BMT, the patient is discharged from the hospital. Proper follow-up medical care is advised by the doctor post-discharge. As the patient is on immune suppressive medications ( for avoiding rejection of newly grafted bone marrow ) good personal hygiene and avoiding infections is paramount.
At CMCS health, we offer bone marrow transplants in India | Best Indian BMT doctors for medical travelers, seeking cost-effective bone marrow transplants in India.
What services CMCS Health offers for medical travelers seeking bone marrow transplant in India :
At CMCS health, we discuss the medical reports of patients seeking bone marrow transplants in India with leading hematologists and bone marrow transplant specialists of India and guide them about treatment options, success rates, and cost of a bone marrow transplant.
We are committed to provide cost-effective bone marrow transplant in India| best Indian BMT doctors for global medical travelers seeking bone marrow transplant in India.
Collection of samples and HLA matching for allogenic bone marrow transplants in India :
We have helped many patients from all across the world in HLA matching with a potential bone marrow/stem cell donor for patients needing bone marrow transplants in India, even when they are still in their native countries. This saves money for the medical travelers flying in the wrong donor.
Helping in finding a HLA matching unrelated donor for MUD bone marrow transplant in India :
Patients seeking a bone marrow transplant in India need to send their High-resolution HLA report to us. With the help of our treating Indian BMT specialist doctors and hospitals, we search in national and international bone marrow registries to find a suitable unrelated HLA identical donor for their bone marrow transplant in India.