Apollo successfully conducts its first bone marrow transplant

Apollo Hospitals in Dhaka has successfully conducted its first ever bone marrow transplant, first of its kind, in the private hospital in Bangladesh, said a press release of the hospital.

Dr Abu Jafar Mohammed Saleh, consultant at Adult Haematology and Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant, and his team conducted the transplantation independent of any external support on a 71-year old male patient who has been suffering from multiple myeloma for nine months.

Doctors use patient's own stem cells to replace stem cells damaged by chemotherapy, a cancer treatment that uses chemical substances.

Dr Saleh said Apollo Hospitals Dhaka offers bone marrow transplantation at a cost, which is much lower than in neighbouring countries.

Earlier in 2013, Dhaka Medical College Hospital started bone marrow transplantation for the first time in Bangladesh, DMCH Assistant Director Dr AD Khaza Abdul Gafur told this correspondent.