Day-care bone marrow transplant performed at private hospital

A bone marrow transplant (BMT), a procedure that traditionally requires prolonged hospitalisation, has been performed on a day-care basis at a private hospital in the city, highlighting the potential for shorter treatment duration and reduced costs for select blood cancer patients.

Conventionally, patients undergoing a bone marrow transplant are admitted for three to four weeks to manage high-dose chemotherapy, stem cell infusion, and the heightened risk of infections during recovery.

Doctors said avoiding prolonged hospitalisation significantly reduces treatment costs. While a conventional BMT costs between ₹12 lakh and ₹16 lakh, the recent day-care procedure was completed at an expense of ₹4.9 lakh.

The transplant was carried out at Trustwell Hospitals on a 44-year-old patient diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer. The patient, a farmer from Mysuru and the only breadwinner of his family, was diagnosed in April and referred for a transplant after initial treatment by a local oncologist. He underwent an Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation- an advanced procedure where a patient’s own healthy stem cells are collected, preserved, and reinfused after high-dose chemotherapy.

“This is the seventh day-care bone marrow transplant procedure that we have done so far,” said Sachin Jadhav, Director of Haematology and Bone Marrow Transplant at the hospital. “The concept is well established in the West, and our effort has been to adapt the technology and protocols to Indian settings,” he said.

Dr. Jadhav said that while the transplant itself does not require admission, patients are closely monitored on a daily basis after the procedure. “The patient reports to the hospital every day and is observed for about six hours. This continues for seven to eight days. In this case, the patient later developed a fever and was admitted for five days as a precaution,” he said, adding that the overall recovery process after stem cell infusion usually spans around 18 days.

Addressing concerns about infection risks, he said strict selection criteria were followed. The day-care BMT, he noted, is suitable for younger patients without multiple co-morbidities, who live within half an hour of the hospital and have families capable of providing diligent post-procedure care. “Intensive counselling of both patients and caregivers is an essential part of the process,” he said.

H.V. Madhusudhan, chairman and managing director of the hospital, said the day-care approach could help make advanced cancer treatment more accessible. He added that while the model is not suitable for all patients, it offers a viable alternative for carefully selected cases.