First Lymphoma Bone Marrow Transplant in City a Success

The first-ever bone marrow transplant for treating lymphoma (a kind of blood cancer) in the city was done successfully at Alexis Hospital recently. The 39-year-old patient was discharged from the hospital after 35 days of the procedure.  Medical oncologist Dr Amol Dongre, who did the transplant, said that somehow the patient responded very well and had no infections after the procedure as managing infections is the biggest job after a bone marrow transplant (BMT).  “The patient had been to cities like Mumbai, Chennai, and Hyderabad for the transplant but decided to do it in Alexis considering the availability of facilities here,” he said. It was an autologous BMT, which means that the stem cells of the patients (which produce all types of cells) are removed from his/her body before chemotherapy and put back after it. “This was a relapsed patient, meaning he had taken chemotherapy but got the disease back,” said Dr Dongre.

Dr Harish Warbhe, director lifeline Blood Bank, said that the patient was first put on growth factors which stimulate the formation for stem cell in much more numbers than in the normal course in the blood. These stem cells are than harvested or removed from the patient’s body using an apheresis machine. The cell separator machine separates the stem cells from other blood cells and takes them out while the remaining part of the blood is sent back to the body. These cells were cryo-preserved or stored at minus 80 degrees Celsius for six days. In the meantime, the patient is put on heavy chemotherapy which should kill almost all the white blood cells in the body.

Thereafter, the stored stem cells are removed, thawed and infused into the body intravenously. The process of removal of stem cells and their storage was done at Lifeline Blood Bank while the transplant also called as engraftment was performed at Alexis. Dr Jatinder Arora, director administration, said that the patient was kept in isolation rooms with positive pressure to prevent any infections. The nurses and other staff attending on the patient were specifically tested for infections. “It is all team work. I thank Dr Adil Daud for his team of infection control and nutrition in the recovery of the patient” he said. The team at Alexis hospital, besides Dr Dongre, comprised Dr Dongre, comprised Dr Arif Khan (medical oncologist), Dr Mahesh Deshmukh, Dr Yogesh Pawar, and Dr Anuja Kanchankar. Sisters Anjali Joy, Beula Begari, Vilakshi Kadam and Priti Gurang helped during the procedure.  – TOI