First public-sector bone marrow transplantation centre set up in Lahore
March 25, 2017
LAHORE: The first public sector bone-marrow transplantation centre has been established at the Children's Hospital & Institute of Child Health in Lahore at a cost of Rs260 million.
The Punjab Minister for Specialised Healthcare & Medical Education Khawaja Salman Rafique chaired a meeting to review the arrangements for making the centre operational here on Saturday.
Prof Ahsan Rathore informed the meeting that the centre consisted of 60 beds. It will provide medical treatment and surgical facilities to patients suffering from cancer, haematology and bone marrow disorders.
Installation of medical equipment at the facility is under way and the centre would start functioning within two months. Doctors have selected the first five patients to undergo bone marrow operations.
Dean Children Hospital Prof Masood Sadiq said that the Punjab Human Organs Transplantation Authority (PHOTA) has been asked to issue institutional permission to start bone marrow operations.
Salman Rafique has also requested Dr Aslam Afghani, Chief Executive, Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), for issuance of permit to import medicines required for bone marrow operations.
He said that initially 30 bone marrow transplantation operations would be carried out annually, adding that the facility would be provided to the poor and deserving patients free of cost.
In the private sector, one bone marrow operation costs Rs3 million, he added.
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