Hyderabad, June 18: Vishwanath Raju of Bhimavaram at Warangal worked in a chemical factory and was the sole breadwinner for his family, which included two children. Upon complaints of a severe back pain that would not subside despite medication and painkillers, it was revealed that the 48-year-old was suffering from a terminal stage of bone cancer (Myeloma). The heartbroken patient was referred by the ESI at Sanathnagar to a private hospital in the city.
At the hospital, a radical method of stem cell transplantation was carried out, which has seen Raju recover successfully without major complications. At the announcement made at Yashoda Cancer Institute today, doctors said that this was the first time in India that the stem cells were harvested using a new chemical agent, called the GMCSF.
The procedure, said Oncologist at the Institute, Dr A V S Suresh, “reduced the recovery time to less than two weeks.” The transplantation, explained Dr Suresh, “involved extracting stem cells from the patient’s bone marrow with the chemical agent, which would then disperse the stem cells in the blood.” The stem cell-enriched blood was then extracted out of the patient’s body and stored for transplantation later.
“The unique aspect of the procedure was that the patient himself performed the role of the donor, though the two week period when the patient was left literally ‘without blood’ was crucial and required extensive monitoring,” he added.
Stem cells are incidentally considered as a life blood for cancer patients, since they can quickly adapt and repair damaged tissue in the body. Conventionally extracted from the umbilical cords of new born babies, stem cell harvesting had run into initial troubles, since the procedure for extraction was controversial. “The new method, however ensures that there is no scarcity for donors, as the patient can provide the raw materials for stem cell harvesting,” he added. The patient, at present is reported to be recovering within the normal range and “does not have any evidence of the disease, ” the doctor signed off.
–Agencies–