Bone marrow centre to be functional in two months in Lahore

LAHORE: On the directions of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the first public sector bone marrow transplantation centre has been established in Children Hospital, Lahore, at a cost of Rs 260 million.

“Installation of medical equipment is underway and the centre would start functioning within two months. Doctors have selected first five patients for bone marrow operations,” said Khawaja Salman Rafique, Punjab Minister for Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education, after chairing a meeting to review the arrangements for operationalising the bone marrow transplantation at Children Hospital on Saturday.

Besides, Dean Institute of Child Health and Children Hospital Prof. Dr. Masood Sadiq, Medical Director Prof Ahsan Waheed Rathore, Project Director Bone Marrow Transplantation Center Dr. Tahir Shamsi, Dr. Nasir Bukhari, Prof. Huma Arshad Cheema, Dr. Mehvish Faizan and other concerned officers attended the meeting.

The meeting was informed that the centre had 60 beds where medical treatment and surgical facilities would be provided to the patients suffering from cancer, heamatology and bone marrow disorders.Kh Salman Rafique said that initially 30 bone marrow transplantation operations would be carried out annually. He said that this facility would be provided to the poor and deserving patients free of cost. “In private sector one bone marrow operation costs 3 million rupees,” he added.