LAHORE: The first bone marrow transplant centre in the public sector will start functioning within two months at the Children’s Hospital here.

“The poor and deserving patients will avail themselves of treatment facilities at this centre free of cost while in the private sector one bone marrow operation costs Rs3 million,” said Minister for Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Khwaja Salman Rafique while presiding over a meeting here on Saturday.

The minister said initially 30 bone marrow transplant operations would be performed annually at the centre, completed at a cost of Rs260m.

It will start functioning in ‘two months’

Earlier, Children’s Hospital Medical Director Prof Ahsan Waheed Rathore said first five patients had been selected for bone marrow operations at the centre where installation of medical equipment was under way.

He said the 60-bed centre would provide treatment and surgical facilities to patients suffering from cancer, heamatology and bone marrow disorders.

Institute of Child Health and Children’s Hospital dean Prof Masood Sadiq said doctors, nurses and other staff had completed training from abroad as well as Institute of Blood Diseases, Karachi.

The Punjab Human Organs Transplantation Authority had been asked to issue institutional permission to start bone marrow operation.

“Children’s Hospital is pursuing the Drugs Regulatory Authority Pakistan (DRAP) for getting permission to import such medicines which are essential for the treatment of bone marrow patients but not registered in Pakistan,” said Prof Sadiq.

Khwaja Rafique contacted DRAP Chief Executive Dr Aslam Afghani by telephone and emphasised the need to issue permission for the purpose. Dr Afghani assured the minister that the DRAP would immediately issue permission as soon as the Children’s Hospital sent a written request.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2017