CMC Ludhiana completes 10 years of stem cell transplantation

Ludhiana, April 5, 2019: Renowned Haematologist in India, the honourable Padma Shri Professor Dr.Mammen Chandy was the chief guest of the occasion which marked the transplant milestones at CMC Ludhiana. While addressing the audience, he explained on “The Journey of establishing bone marrow (stem cell) transplantation in India and the hope for the future in curing the incurable cancers and blood disorders”. Following his speech, Padma Bhushan Shri S.P Oswal elaborated on the expectations from value based health care at Ludhiana. He mentioned that it is indeed a great achievement that there has been stem cell transplant services for more than 10 years consistently and there is a team which can look after the needs of the people of Ludhiana. Having completed 150 transplants and to have the patients, donors and their relatives here in our midst is the testament to the commitment of the team. Thalassaemia major is one of the childhood blood disorders common in Punjab, which affect children to be transfusion dependent for life. Transplantation can offer cure to them and CMC Ludhiana has one more than 60 transplants for such patients including matched related and unrelated transplants. Many patients and their relatives shared their experience of undergoing transplant and it was time of reunion and expressing gratitude The year 2019 also marks the 125th anniversary (Quasquicentennial) of CMC’s inception in Ludhiana in 1894. There are only a handful of institutions in the country that have endured for over a century. Stem cell transplantation is a team effort and it is only with the help of a full-fledged trained team of nurses, physician assistants, office personnel, and doctors it can be possible. The city of Ludhiana have access to autologous, matched sibling, matched unrelated, and haploidentical stem cell transplantation services. Let us hope that we would soon have a centre of excellence in transplantation and cancer research. Transplantation gives hope for blood cancers like leukemia, myeloma and lymphoma which can now be accessed in our city.