QIH starts haematology, bone marrow transplant services

Islamabad : Responding to the crying need for the establishment of state-of-the-art facilities for bone marrow and stem cell transplant (BMT) and a tertiary care centre for blood diseases, the Quaid-e-Azam International Hospital (QIH) inaugurated its Department of Clinical Haematology and Bone Marrow Transplant here on Friday.

Speaking on the occasion, the hospital’s CEO Dr. Shaukat Ali Bangash hoped that the existing gap in the management of blood diseases and bone marrow transplant in Pakistan will soon be overcome. The said department consists of a dedicated bone marrow transplant ICU, peri-transplant section, daycare, and OPD.

There are only five centres that are regularly performing bone marrow transplant in Pakistan and even less that can provide comprehensive facilities for management of blood diseases. While affording patients usually travel abroad for treatment of blood diseases, the needy ones run from pillar to post for treatment.

Some of the common blood diseases in Pakistan that require bone marrow transplantation are thalassemia; aplastic anemia and other bone marrow failure syndromes; inherited immune deficiencies; and blood cancers like acute and chronic leukaemia, myeloma, and lymphoma.

“Though there are no reliable data on the incidence and prevalence of blood diseases in Pakistan, an estimated 5,000 children every year are born with thalassemia alone. The prevalence of aplastic anemia is estimated to be about 0.5-2 per million population, while that of blood cancer is much more than what is reported by various cancer registries since these registries only have access to biopsy records. Though prevention is the long-term solution for management of thalassemia, bone marrow transplant remains the only curative treatment for those born with the disease,” Dr. Bangash stated while sharing the news with this scribe.

Talking about QIH’s future expansion plans, Dr. Bangash said, “We plan to build a teaching hospital for training of doctors, nurses and paramedical staff in the field of clinical haematology and stem cell transplant. Moreover, collaborations with national and international organisations and registries for research and management in the field of clinical haematology and stem cell transplant are also in the pipeline.” As opposed to $800,00 in USA, $500,000 in the UK, and $20-40,000 in India, a Bone Marrow Transplant at QIH will cost $20-25,000, which comes to Rs2.5-3 million, it is learnt.