Bone Marrow Transplants Offer Hope for Complex Blood Disorders; Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai Performs 100 Procedures Since 2019
NAVI MUMBAI (India CSR®): For patients with aggressive blood cancers and inherited blood disorders, bone marrow transplantation can often be the only curative treatment. Over the past six years, Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai has steadily built a specialised Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) programme to meet this growing need, performing 100 bone marrow transplants since its launch in February 2019.
Established just months before the COVID-19 pandemic, the programme continued to expand despite unprecedented challenges. What began as a 3-bed Bone Marrow Transplant Unit has grown into a dedicated 6-bed transplant facility, offering specialised care for both adult and paediatric patients.
Led by Dr. Punit Jain, Lead Consultant – Haematology, Haemato-Oncology & Bone Marrow Transplantation & CAR T-Cell Therapy, together with Dr. Vipin Khandelwal, Senior Consultant – Paediatric Haemato-Oncology & Bone Marrow Transplantation, the programme is supported by a multidisciplinary ecosystem comprising dedicated isolation facilities, a full-fledged blood bank, infectious disease specialists, intensive care teams, gastroenterologists, dermatologists and specialised haemato-oncology nursing staff. Such infrastructure plays a critical role in reducing transplant-related complications and supporting patients through every stage of treatment.
Speaking about the evolution of bone marrow transplantation, Dr. Punit Jain said, “One of the biggest barriers today is no longer finding a suitable donor, but ensuring patients are referred early enough for transplantation. Advances such as haploidentical transplantation have transformed donor availability, enabling many patients without a fully matched donor to receive potentially curative treatment. Early evaluation allows patients access to a wider range of treatment options and can significantly influence outcomes.”
The programme treats patients with conditions including acute and chronic leukaemias, multiple myeloma, lymphomas, aplastic anaemia, myelodysplastic syndromes, thalassaemia, sickle cell disease and primary immunodeficiency disorders. Of the 100 transplants, 65% have been allogeneic and 35% autologous. Nearly 30% of allogeneic transplants have been haploidentical, highlighting how advances in donor matching have expanded treatment opportunities. The centre has also performed four CAR T-cell therapies for patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell Lymphomas and Leukaemias.
Emphasising the importance of timely intervention in children, Dr. Vipin Khandelwal said, “For children with conditions such as thalassaemia, sickle cell disease, aplastic anaemia and certain immunodeficiency disorders, timely transplantation can offer the possibility of a cure and significantly improve long-term health and quality of life. Increasing awareness among families and referring physicians is encouraging earlier evaluations, allowing more children to benefit from advanced transplant care.”
From a 3-bed Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, the programme has grown into a dedicated 6-bed facility supported by specialised isolation units, intensive care, transfusion medicine, infectious disease expertise and multidisciplinary teams. Despite managing a highly complex patient population, the programme has reported survival outcomes exceeding 70%, comparable with internationally published standards.
As the burden of blood cancers and inherited blood disorders continues to rise, specialists emphasise that greater awareness and timely referrals to specialised transplant centres remain key to improving patient outcomes and expanding access to life-saving therapies.
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