Almost every door was literally shut for 42-year-old Satish Vakiti, a father of two children and a trader from Saidabad, when doctors diagnosed that he had a life threatening form of blood cancer. His only chance to survive was to have a bone marrow transplant, that too from a fully matched HLA family donor. Unfortunately, there were no family members of Satish whose HLA was matching fully. With time running out, doctors of Bone Marrow Transplant Centre, Yashoda Hospitals, decided to go for Haplo-Identical Bone Marrow Transplant. Because of lack of a fully matched HLA marrow from a family member, a half HLA matched marrow from his brother was considered for bone marrow transplant.
“Within three weeks, he started to show clear signs of recovery. The stem cells from the half HLA matched bone marrow of his brother are doing wonders. His situation is complicated because of chronic liver ailment. He has to be very careful from infections,” says Ganesh Jaishetwar, head of Bone Marrow Transplant Centre, Yashoda Hospitals, Somajiguda.
The Haplo-Identical or half matched bone marrow transplant is the only treatment available for blood cancer patients who do not have HLA matched family donor.
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“Because he has received partially matched bone marrow, Satish has to be kept in immunosuppressant drugs. That’s why he has to be extra vigilant from infections,” Dr. Ganesh said.
In the past one year, close to 20 bone marrow transplants have successfully been taken up by the surgical team headed by Dr. Ganesh in the Bone Marrow Transplant Centre.
“When compared to matching bone marrow transplant, half matched marrow transplants are definitely risky and complicated. Thanks to the modern technology, such procedures are now possible,” the surgeons said.
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Satish Vakiti undergoes Haplo-Identical Bone Marrow Transplant, a risky surgery as he could not receive a fully HLA matched marrow