First Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplant at BMT Unit

AKUH reached a major milestone in July 2004 when its Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Unit carried out a successful allogeneic transplant, the first such procedure performed at the recently established facility. The recipient was a seven-year-old boy who became the third patient overall to be discharged from the BMT Unit.

A patient at the BMT Unit.

Zain had been suffering from aplastic anaemia for the last one-and-a-half years. All previous treatment options, including immunosuppressive therapy, had failed and the patient was being maintained on regular platelet and blood transfusions. Human Leucocyte Antigen (HLA) matching on family members revealed that Zain’s mother was a 100 per cent match and the boy was admitted to the BMT Unit where he received conditioning chemotherapy. On day zero, bone marrow was harvested from the mother along with peripheral blood stem cells and was subsequently infused to Zain. The donor, who had been placed under general anaesthesia, was discharged the same evening and is currently in good health. Zain engrafted on day +11 post-transplant, stayed stable and was able to go home with an unsupported haemoglobin level of 9.5 g/dl, white cell count of 5.7 and platelet level of 357,000.

The BMT Unit discharged its first patient earlier in July 2004 after successful treatment lasting 26 days. Inaugurated in April 2004, the BMT Unit at the University Hospital is specially designed for a select group of oncology and haematology patients, offering services to patients suffering from benign and malignant disorders such as aplastic anaemia, lymphoma, leukaemia and thalassaemia.