Revolutionary Stem Cell Transplant Amongst Non-Blood Donors

Ideally stem cell transplants have been undertaken between blood relations. Factors like blood group and the human leukocyte antigen(HLA) need to be matched. The immune system takes the aid of the human leukocyte antigen to make a distinction between host cells in the body and the alien cells.

This revolutionary technique was first pioneered by the Japanese who have effectively broken the barrier. In the past years, there have been close to thirty experiments been carried out with an effectiveness rate of 80%.

This was the premier instance that it was been implemented in India, wherein the stem cells taken from the cord blood of a new born child was infused into an unrelated donor, an elderly patient who was ailing from aplastic anaemia.

It was a path breaking approach employed by the doctors of the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Cancer Research Institute in Kolkata who have successfully undertaken the approach after being motivated by a Japanese research that proved it was indeed doable.

The outcome has been positive with the patient displaying a higher level of red blood count than what he had on the day he underwent the transplant. His red blood cell production had ceased a year ago and was carrying on only due to transfusions.

As the stem cells display less antigenic property, they don’t need a blood group or genetic match, though in the case of transplant of bone marrow, the HLA needs to match. But in the case of this person, the high chemotherapy dose had totally obliterated his bone marrow to make space for new cells.

It would be a matter of two weeks for the cell proliferation to fully ensue, with a time period of six months to a year for the patient to fully recuperate.

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