2nd stem cell transplant successful in BD

Doctors at Bangladesh’s first-ever bone marrow transplant unit have conducted the 2nd stem cell transplant even as the first patient was released from the hospital and recovering fast at home. Prof MA Khan who led the team said they had done the 2nd procedure “successfully”. The first patient Omar Ali was released from the hospital on April 5 and he said on Saturday that he was fine. “I gained strength,” he said over phone from his Rangpur residence. The 52-year-old banker has been suffering from a kind of bone cancer since 2009. Doctors started transplanting back his stem cells on March 10 at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH). Prof Khan said Saturday’s patient Md Alamgir Hossain was also suffering from multiple myeloma. “The procedure has been successful. He will stay in the hospital till his blood count recovers. Next two weeks is critical,” he said. The bone marrow transplant unit has opened “a new era” of medical opportunities in Bangladesh where, according to the health minister, more than 11% of the total cancer patients suffer from blood cancer that affects production and function of blood cells. But patients have to travel abroad and spend millions for such transplant. Ali said he had to spend Tk 240,000 only. “Basically I had to buy medicines, mostly foreign drugs which were not supplied from DMCH and also some costly tests from outside hospitals.” The hospital did not charge anything since authorities earlier said they had selected some patients for carrying out the procedure free of cost at least for the first three months. Prof Khan said 90% patients get fully cured and internationally it has been observed that only in 10% cases the disease recurs. The process of introducing such sophisticated medical technology in Bangladesh began in Oct 20 when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the centre. The government tied up with the Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and trained up nurses and doctors for the procedure. Doctors call the current transplant procedure ‘autologous’ in which the patient’s own bone marrow is used, according to bdnews24.com.