Shahid Akhter, editor, ETHealthworld, spoke to Ramesh Ramadurai, MD, 3M India, to know more 3M collaborations that can improve and impact cancer care, besides cutting down on the costs in a big way.

How has the technological and infrastructural facilities impacted Bone Marrow Transplantation in India ?Every year nearly 20,000 Indian patients, including many children, who suffer from blood and solid cancers require bone marrow transplantation (BMT). However, only 2,000 of these patients are fortunate enough to receive this therapy, as the cost of bone marrow transplantation can vary from INR 10 Lakhs to 30 Lakhs. It is imperative to reduce the cost of cancer treatment while maintaining a stringent focus on sterilization and quality. It is indeed the need of the hour for us to address this issue.

What are the various technological advancement required for the better functioning of the facilities?Despite the increasing demand for bone marrow transplantation, the number of bone marrow doners in India is astonishingly low. India conducts stem cell transplant procedure for approximately 2,000 every year, while around 80,000 to 100,000 annual transplants are required to tackle the burden of blood cancers and fatal blood disorders. Finding a matching donor is very difficult. This option is exercised only after the alternative options have failed.

India has only about 400,000 donors registered on the bone marrow registry. Chances of finding a donor match are as low as 10% to 15% compared to the West where the chances of matching are as high as 60% to 70% due to higher rates of donations.

What are the major and significant developments in treating bone marrow cancer in the country?A bone marrow registry collects information on individuals willing and able to donate bone marrow and gathers the donor information into a database. In India, organisations like Datri are helping to create a pool of donors to help people who do not have blood-related donors by finding an unrelated match for life-saving treatment.

Infusion of a memory cell is another advancement. This involves taking out the cells, sorting the good cells and the memory cells or the fighting cells, which can fight infections, sorting them out, capturing them and putting them back into the body after giving the requisite chemotherapy. This is also called T-cell depletion with memory cell infusion. It is now available in India and is affordable.

Through this partnership with United Way Bengaluru and Sri Shankara Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (SSCHRC), how does 3M aim to foster accessibility for people from different sections of the society in treating cancer. 3M India was brought into the SSCHRC family through United Way of Bengaluru, and this is our second round of engagement with the hospital. Last year, 3M India had donated equipment for cancer research and diagnostics like the Sanger sequencer and QPCR, made enhancements to the childrens play area at the long-stay Lakshmi Childrens center with child-friendly wall graphics, and provided kitchen utensils and cooking counters for the resident families of paediatric cancer patients.

We have donated several critical equipments for the research labs which contribute to the successful treatment of the BMT patients. As on date the BMT unit at SSCHRC has treated and discharged 5 patients and currently 4 are undergoing treatment. This wing of the hospital is accessible by few staff nurses and specialists like Dr K N Nataraj who is the Chief of Adult and Paediatric Haematology at the hospital. For a successful bone marrow transplantation, there are several requisites, some of which include, successful donor matching, extremely technique-sensitive harvesting and transplantation processes and robust infection control. With this essential, life-saving equipment, the cost of the treatment will reduce to approximately 50% (between Rs 8-12 Lacs as against the actual cost of Rs 15- 30 lacs) and help the hospital treat many more cancer patients.

How do 3M India and Sri Shankara Hospital plan to take this initiative ahead in the future for the growth and enhancement of bone marrow transplantation in the facility? It is matter of pride for 3M India and United Way of Bengaluru that we are associated with SSCHRC, an institution at the forefront of providing comprehensive cancer treatment to the needy, through CSR interventions.

By complying with the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) Guidelines, the BMT Centre will be a one-of-a-kind medical facility where people of all economic status can receive treatment. Being a growing facility, the hospital is committed to continuing its responsibility towards expansion of multiple hospital beds and medical care. We are inspired by the commitment of the doctors and Sri Shankara Board of Trustees, led by Dr. B.S. Srinath and other dedicated professionals who developed a multifaceted approach to establishment a state of the art, affordable cancer hospital that is accessible to all irrespective of caste, creed, religion, gender or socioeconomic status.

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It is imperative to reduce the cost of cancer treatment: Ramesh Ramadurai, MD, 3M India - ETHealthworld.com