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Head of the Department (HoD), Haematology, Haemato oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) specialist Dr. Avinash Kumar Singh of Paras HMRI Hospital, Patna said that people usually take anaemia in lighter mode which takes a severe toll on the body if not taken care in the early stage.

Dr Singh said that anaemia can be an indicator of other severe diseases like blood cancer, thalassemia and multiple myeloma which usually does not get detected in the initial stages and people are usually not aware also about them.

Dr. Singh said this while speaking on the sidelines of a Milan Samaroh of BMT patients who have been treated at Paras HMRI Hospital, Patna in last 2 years. Altogether 5 patients who underwent BMT surgery alongwith their attendants were present during the Samaroh.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Singh said, ‘Just by infusing blood and taking medicines one cannot be cured of these diseases. The only way to cure these diseases are opting for bone marrow transplant as it is the only solution to get rid of these diseases from root curing  it from the base of it.’

Dr Singh further said that Paras HMRI Hospital Patna is the only hospital in Bihar and Jharkhand where all types of BMT recommended for patients based on their conditions are being done.

He said that BMT is of two types- autologous and allogenic, both of which are being done at Paras HMRI Hospital, Patna for the last 2 years.

Altogether, 10 patients have undergone bone marrow transplantation at the hospital so far, Dr Singh said adding, ‘Two people are currently undergoing BMT at the hospital also.’

Dr Singh said that there is an urgent need of creating awareness about BMT so that lives of the people can be saved and adds, “In Bihar, cases of aplastic anaemia are majorly seen amongst the population and out of them, 90% of people die in want of BMT in initial 3-4 months despite BMT being done at Paras HMRI Hospital, Patna.”

During the Samaroh, patients who have been cured following BMT also shared their experiences, at they said they were now completely fine and were able to perform their duties as in the past.

A stem cell donor, Nitish shared his views on the occasion as he said that he was extremely happy by donating stem cells to his brother and tried to discard the fear of stem cell donation. Nitish said that one should not get frightened of stem cell donation as it is just like blood donation and there is no adverse impact on the donor also.

The people were informed during the Samaroh that the Bihar government gives Rs 5 lakh as grant for BMT (for patients whose annual income is less than Rs. 80,000) and most of the patients undergoing BMT at Paras HMRI Hospital had availed the benefit. However, the state government was urged to give more grants for allogeneic transplantation.

Speaking on the occasion, Paras’s regional director Dr Talat Halim said ‘due to facility of BMT at Paras Hospital, now patients need not go to other places such as Delhi and Mumbai for treatment as Paras HMRI Hospital has got all the requisite facilities for BMT here in Bihar itself. Dr Talat said that by opting for BMT at Paras Hospital people can also save their hard earned money as one have to shell out more money for treatment at Delhi and Mumbai hospitals.’

Notably, Tarun’s family who was suffering from blood cancer had appealed for euthanasia from the President of India and that time Tarun’s life was saved by Dr Singh and Paras HMRI Hospital Patna which took the cudgel of treating Tarun who is completely alright now.