KARACHI, Aug 21: Health professionals said that expensive procedure of Bone Marrow Transplant could be offered to a common man only with the help of philanthropic support.

These views were expressed at a symposium held here at a local hotel by the Bismillah Taqee Institute of Health Sciences and Blood Diseases Centre in connection with its 10th BMT celebration on Saturday.

Consultant Haematologist and Transplant Physician Dr Tahir Shamsi said that the expertise available locally had reached to a level that its success rate was touching international standards.

Discussing the BMT activity during the last 10 years, Dr Tahir Shamsi said that over 180 Bone Marrow Transplants were carried out by the Bismillah Taqee Institute and Armed Forces BMT Centre.

He said that there were more than 800 BMT centres across the world, which carried out over around 80,000 transplants per year.

"In Pakistan, the most common indication for the BMT is aplastic anaemia and thalassaemia while worldwide blood cancers, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and myeloma are the most common indications," he said.

On the occasion, Dr Tahir Shamsi announced a two-year fellowship in Bone Marrow Transplant for two doctors, who had completed FCPS in medicine or paediatrics.

In his presentation, Dr Nehal Masood of the Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital explained discovery of novel therapeutic approach using onoclnocal antibody RITUXIMAB in lymphoma patients requiring Bone Marrow Transplantation.

Dr Faisal Sultan of the Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital highlighted the latest development in treatment of fungal infection in cancer patients.

Dr Mohammad Irfan of the Bismillah Taqee Institute said that transplant could save thousands of children suffering from genetic disorders like thalassaemia and immune deficiency disease and some cases of blood cancer.

Dr Raheel Aziz of the Sindh Institute of Urine Transplant (SIUT) highlighted immuno-suppressive strategies to overcome the risk of rejection and graft versus host disease. He said that optimizing the immuno-suppression with cyclosporin could save the life of many transplanted patients.

Dr Ahmed Naqvi discussed treatment options in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. "It is curable in the majority of children with chemotherapy alone," he added.

Dr Pervez Ahmed of Armed Forces BMT Centre, Dr Tasneem, Dr Saqib, Dr Salman and Dr Ghazala also presented their papers. -PPI