Hematology
The department currently sees 1200 new outpatients every year and admits about 700 patients every year for inpatient care. These patients come from all over India and cover the whole spectrum of blood diseases. Acute lymphatic leukemia is being treated with the German BFM protocols with 70% long term survival in children. The departments sees over 60 new patients with severe aplastic anemia each year and provides consultation haematology services for the hospital.
The department started its BMT program in 1986 and has done 165 transplants until August 1997, and is currently doing 30 allogeneic bone marrow transplants a year with a three bed positive pressure HEPA filtered transplant unit. Thalassemia is one of the main indications and 60 transplants have been done so far with a success rate of 75% even though most of the patients are in Class II or III. Bone marrow transplants are also done for patients with acute leukemia, aplastic anemia, chronic myeloid leukemia and myelodysplasia. Autologous transplants are being performed mainly for patients with multiple myeloma using mobilized peripheral blood stem cells.
Comprehensive care is available for patients with hemophilia. Major surgery is also being performed for these patients in the institution with coagulation factors received as gifts .This service is being utilized by patients with crippling deformities who are being effectively rehabilitated in association with the orthopedic and rehabilitation teams in the institution. Efficacy and safety of low dose factor replacement for post operative hemostasis is being evaluated.
The department is now able to confirm the mutation in most patients and carriers with thalassemia by reverse dot blot and DGGE techniques. The department is also able to provide antenatal diagnosis at 8-10 weeks for couples who are carriers for thalassemia. The department is working on providing this service for patients with hemophilia and Glanzman’s thrombasthenia.
The department is currently an Advanced Center of the Indian Council of Medical Research for Bone Marrow Transplantation in Thalassemia and on this project is working on the pharmacokinetics of Busulphan in patients with thalassemia. The department is also working on DNA fingerprinting techniques for the assessment of chimerism following bone marrow transplantation. Other research interests include the following:
