About our Hematology Hospital

Bone Marrow Transplantation (BMT)

JD Healthcare's Hospitals has a world-class bone marrow transplant facility in Chennai, geared for Allogenic, Autologous & Cord Blood Transplants for Benign & Malignant Disorders. The Unit is a part of European Blood & Marrow Transplant Group.

The facility has a dedicated team, which includes a hematology, oncologists, nursing and ancillary staff. They are not only trained in the procedures but also keep updating their knowledge through frequent visits to other Bone Marrow Transplant centres around the world.

We have performed over 80 BMTs on children with a success rate of 70%. Our aim is to achieve even greater heights. BMT is not just a success story but it is an achievement towards living life rather than just surviving.

What is Bone Marrow Transplant?

Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) is used to treat people with or without cancer. For cancer patients BMT serves as a "rescue" process to help revive their blood cell count, which may have been lost due to high exposure to radiation. Patients without cancer may need BMT because their own bone marrow may be defective or dysfunctional. Bone marrow is ideally received from a sibling donor.

Bone marrow controls the production of red blood cells and hemoglobin, as well as white blood cells, which fight infection, and platelets which prevent bleeding and develop and maintain the body's immune system. There are about 1,300 BMT centres around the world, of which we have access to four of the best. Of these four, only JD Healthcare's perform transplants for both benign and malignant hematological and non-hematological disorder.

What is (Umbilical) Cord Blood Transplant (CBT)?

The Umbilical cord, is the lifeline for an unborn child in the mother's womb. So far, this important cord, which provides food, nourishment and oxygen in the form of hemoglobin from the mother to the child, had found no major post-child birth uses and was discarded after birth. New evidence, suggests that the cord may have qualities that can help save the life of someone who needs a BMT (Bone Marrow Transplant). Among patients who need BMT, only 30% find a matched sibling. Matched unrelated donor BMT's and mismatched related BMT's have high mortality rate. Cord blood apart from easy availability is free of latent virus contaminations, has apparent ease of engraftment with low chances of graft failures.

In 1998, a team led by Prof.Elaine Gluckman in Paris, recommended this new opportunity to doctors worldwide, and the first such transplant saved the life of an eight-year old who was suffering from fancon's anaemia (a congenital condition). Since then about 250 cord blood transplants have been done all over the world.

The first successful CBT was done in JD Healthcare's Hospital on a 5-year-old child suffering from relapsed acute leukaemia in February 1998.

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