MGM organises camp for human leukocyte antigen typing of thalassemia patients

Indore: In its process to start the bone marrow transplant(BMT) for first time at MYH, MGM Medical College on Monday conducted human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing of patients suffering from thalassemia and their siblings. In the camp, organised under the guidance of USA-based doctor Dr Prakash Satwani and an NGO Sankalp India Foundation president Lalith Parmar, 50 out of total 75 registered patients underwent the HLA typing. Besides, the management witnessed around 20 registrations on the spot.;“We have trained two doctors, who have voluntarily came forward to support the cause, to collect buccal swab of the patients and their siblings and they will run the camp for the next three days to cover the remaining patients,” Parmar told TOI.;He said that a similar camp will be organised in Bhopal and Gwalior o conduct HLA typing of 100 registered patients on December 26 and 29 respectively.;Parmar claimed that the cost of each HLA tying is around Rs 10,000 to 15,000, but his organisation is doing it for free of cost.

Earlier in the jam-packed auditorium of MY Hospital, Dr Satwani, Parmar, MGM dean Dr Sharad Thora and Dr Ashok Yadav were among the speakers to brief the patients and their family members about BMT, its procedure and benefits. The experts also addressed queries of the patients and their family members regarding thalassemia and BMT.;“Our focus is to first take up the cases for BMT, which can yield higher result. Therefore, we have created two groups – cases with more than 90 per cent chances of success and less than that,” Dr Thora told TOI.;He said that public works department (PWD) will handover the newly developed BMT’s unit by December 30. Chief minister >Shivraj Singh Chouhan would inaugurate the unit during his two-day stay in Indore on January 3 and 4, 2018. At MYH, cost of BMT will be around 5-6 lakh

Q: How did you get associated with this project?
A few years ago, I performed bone marrow transplant (BMT) f a senior police officer’s child, who was posted in Madhya Pradesh. Through him, I came to know about non-availability of BMT in government hospitals in state. Later, I met senior bureaucrats and discussed ways to start BMT for thalassemia patients and chose MY Hospital for it.

Q: How are you going to setup the project?
I have signed an MOU with state government and will render my services free of cost. Two paediatric doctors of MY Hospital – Dr Prachi and Dr Preeti – have been sent to the USA for six months training. Besides, Sankalp India Foundation will train some doctors and nurses to follow medical protocols to get maximum results. The organization’s low maintenance yet high efficiency model in Bangalore will be adopted in Indore.

Q: How will poor benefit from this new facility?
In cities like Delhi and Mumbai, BMT costs around Rs 20-30 lakh while in Sankalp India Foundation’s medical facility in Bangalore, expenses on BMT are around Rs 9-10 lakh. With major facilities available at MY Hospital, cost of BMT will be around Rs 5-6 lakh, which state government has agreed to bear.

Q: What will be your strategy to get desired results from BMT facility?
I have given standardized medical protocols for BMT to authorities concerned, which they have modified to benefit maximum patients with higher success rate. I will perform around 3-4 BMT in April and our target for the year is around 12-15. Our plan is to reach up to 30 BMTs in a year. We are working on preparing electronic health records to maintain transparency in the process.

Q; Are you working on other projects too with state government to improve public health facilities?
We are working to start a comprehensive thalassemia clinic in Chacha Nehru hospital to provide standardized treatment to patients. Besides, there is no paediatric cancer facility in public sector and if things go as planned, we will try to start the same.

(US- based Satwani is helping government establish state's first bone marrow transplant facility at MY Hospital)