For the first time, two bone marrow transplantation procedures have been successfully carried out here at Children Hospital which is the first public sector hospital across the country offering bone marrow transplantation. Dean Children Hospital Professor Masood Sadiq and Medical Director Professor Ahsan Waheed Rathore told the media at a press briefing that successful procedure of bone marrow transplantation of two children Bilal (2) and Aashir (4) was conducted at Children Hospital. The real sisters of both the children have donated their bone marrow.
Professor Ahsan Waheed Rathore said it has become possible only due to the personal interest of and the attention paid by Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif with a vision to provide best healthcare facilities to the people of Punjab. Professor Rathore further informed that both the donors and recipients are stable and their health is improving.
He informed the media that the Chief Minister Punjab has appointed Project Director Dr Tahir Shamsi, who is the pioneer of bone marrow transplantation in Pakistan, and the Director of National Institute of Blood Diseases, Karachi (NIBD). He said the doctors of Children Hospital have written a new history of medical in Pakistan by conducting successful bone marrow transplantation in public sector hospital.
Dr Tahir Shamsi, while responding to a question, informed newsmen that the procedure carried out after tissue matching of real siblings and giving anesthesia 200-250ml bone marrow obtained from the bones of the donor and infused in the recipient patient and the patient kept in infection free atmosphere for seven to eight weeks. After infusion bone marrow starts producing fresh blood, he said, adding: "The successful rate of this treatment is about 70 percent in all over the world and so far 2000 bone marrow transplantation have been carried out in Pakistan."
Professor Rathore said since the bone marrow transplantation facility is available in Children Hospital therefore many lives of children could be saved. Professor Masood Sadiq informed the media that Children Hospital has become a centre of excellence and we are starting training programme in bone marrow transplantation for the doctors, nurses and paramedical staff with a plan to introduce this facility in other hospitals of Punjab such as Nishtar Hospital Multan and Bahawalpur.
Professor Masood Sadiq and Professor Ahsan Waheed Rathore congratulated the whole team of doctors, nurses and paramedics, who are specially trained for this procedure on their success. The team leader Dr Mewish Faizan informed media that this way of treatment is helpful for the treatment of thalassemia, a-plastic anemia and cancer and those patients whose immunity is weak can also be treated by bone marrow transplantation. She expressed determination that her whole team would continue their dedicated efforts for conducting these procedures at Children Hospital. The other members of medical team included Dr Saima Farhan, Dr Nasir Bukhari, Dr Arifa, Dr Mansoor Mazari, Dr Rukhsana and the nursing staff.
Moreover, Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has congratulated the team of doctors as well as the hospital administration for successfully conducting the first bone marrow transplant in the Children's Hospital.
He said that the successful conducting of first bone marrow transplant in any of the public sector hospitals in Pakistan is a big achievement. He said that children of the common man are getting the same healthcare facilities in Children's Hospital which are available to the elite outside the country.
He said that the establishment of bone marrow transplant center in Children's Hospital, Lahore is an important milestone in service to the ailing humanity where doctors, nurses and paramedical staff have been given specialized training while the number of beds for children's cancer ward has been increased to hundred. He said that overcoming the infection control by following the relevant SOPs in the Children's Hospital is praiseworthy.
He said that every necessary step has been adopted to provide best of the best healthcare facilities to the patients in public sector hospitals. Development funds to the tune of billions of rupees have been allocated to develop the health sector and to further improve the healthcare facilities, he added.