Sri Lanka’s first-ever dedicated Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Unit at Asiri Central Hospital recently celebrated its fourth year anniversary bringing fresh hope to the lives of many patients, especially children.
Over the last four years, 32 patients, with Thalassemia and various other blood related disorders have undergone bone marrow transplants at the BMT unit and it has treated patients aged from one and a half years to those in their late eighties.
Established in 2014, it is known as the first BMT centre in the country to be accredited by the Joint Commission International for patient safety and quality of care.
Speaking at a press briefing held in Colombo to celebrate four years of success stories from BMT unit, Dr. Lallindra Gooneratne, Consultant Haematologist, at Asiri’s BMT unit said new cases of Thalassemia, Blood cancers such as Leukaemia and other blood related diseases are on the rise in Sri Lanka.
“However, a bone marrow transplant can mean the difference between life and death for people with blood cancers and related disorders, especially children.”
Our unit was the first in the country to begin bone marrow transplantation. Using state-of-the art technology and facilities we were able to successfully treat patients with even very complex conditions. One of our very first young patients was completely cured and successfully completed her Ordinary Level examination recently.” Dr. Gooneratne noted.
It was also revealed at the press conference that over 2,000 Sri Lankans suffer from Thalassemia and every year over 60 children are born with Thalassemia disease in Sri Lanka.
Furthermore, North West, North Central and Central and Uva provinces have been known to be the most severe Thalassemia-affected regions in Sri Lanka.
The Asiri Bone Marrow transplant unit is the first and only unit in the country to join the Asia Pacific Blood and Marrow transplantation group.
The Asiri BMT unit is registered with the international donor registry. This affiliation also enables its patients to be notified when a donor becomes available, anywhere in the world.
While Bone Marrow transplants require a matching donor, Asiri Hospital assures patients of finding matching donors via overseas registries. To this end, Asiri Hospital works in collaboration with India’s Datri Registry and other registries in countries such as the United States, United Kingdom and Germany to find out possible donors for patients.
Dr. Panduka Karunanayake Consultant Physician speaking at the event described BMT unit at the hospital as a successful private sector led initiative. He said further that the BMT is a complicated and costly operation which also needs careful consideration.
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