Bone marrow transplant inaccessible for patients

In absence of public treatment facilitates, thalassemia or blood cancer patients have little hope for full recovery

KARACHI:

For a school going child with thalassemia juggling the stress of monthly checkpoints with the hassle of monthly transfusions, the possibility of a permanent cure for the chronic condition is a ray of hope signalling a new chance at life. However, if that child happens to live in a country where public welfare falls fairly low on the state's priority list, hope too comes at a price not many are able to afford.

The facility of bone marrow transplant is not available for the treatment of thalassemia, aplastic anaemia, and blood cancer across government hospitals in Sindh including Karachi. As a result, almost 5,000 patients hailing from underdeveloped areas in Sindh and Balochistan are deprived of affordable treatment and have to seek help at private hospitals in Karachi.

Tahir, a 14-year-old thalassemia patient was told by the doctors that a bone marrow transplant was the only permanent treatment for his disease. However, the lack of financial resources meant that the boy had to keep getting temporary blood transfusions to stay alive. Tahir's father, Aslam Mujahid, revealed that bone marrow transplant cost at least Rs3 million to Rs3.5 million ten years ago.

"I had approached the Civil and Jinnah Hospital's to inquire about the bone marrow treatment but was disappointed to learn that it was not available in any government hospital. As a result, my son has to keep getting transfusions, which lead to the accumulation of excess iron in his body. Additional medicines are required to remove the build up, which adds to our financial burden," shared Mujahid.

Like Mujahid's son, Shazia's 10-year-old son, Shayan, also suffered from thalassemia. "Due to dysfunctional blood formation, my son's haemoglobin level is very low, which necessitates a monthly blood transfusion. The doctors have suggested bone marrow transplant as a permanent treatment for his condition. However, I am a widowed woman with barely enough money to make ends meet. Therefore, I can neither afford the tests nor the bone marrow treatment, which is only offered at the private level," regretted Shazia.

According to Dr Saqib Ansari, a haematologist, bone marrow transplant, which is the treatment for blood cancer, aplastic anaemia and thalassemia is not available at government hospitals in Sindh. "A bone marrow transplant is the only permanent treatment for patients suffering from blood cancer, aplastic anaemia and thalassemia. More than 10,000 patients suffering from different types of blood cancer are reported in different hospitals of Karachi every month.

The types of blood diseases prevalent in Pakistan include acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, acute myeloid leukaemia, chronic myeloid leukaemia, chronic lymphoid leukaemia, multiple myeloma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, myelodysplastic syndrome, myeloproliferative neoplasm and myeloproliferative neoplasm.

"Blood cancer occurs when an abnormal change occurs in the blood cells, due to which the blood is prevented from performing its normal functions. After a bone marrow transplant, it takes a year for the patient to fully recover. Medical complications and transplant failure can be life-threatening.

For a bone marrow transplant, bone marrow samples are taken from the patient's family to check if the patient and donor samples are compatible. Before this, various blood tests are also conducted. The diagnosis and treatment of blood cancer has become very expensive. Medicines for patients suffering from this disease are imported therefore, due to the expensive dollar, the prices of these medicines have escaped the reach of the poor patients," said Dr Ansari.