Bone Marrow Database in India

I have some good news to share. Indians (and Asians) would not have to go far away to get a possible Unrelated Bone Marrow Transplant with the Bone Marrow Database now set up in India.

From:-
http://silverscorpio.com/mumbai-becomes-first-indian-city-to-have-bone-marrow-database

Mumbai Becomes First Indian City To Have Bone Marrow Database
Thus far, foreign countries had marrow donor registries, but now, India has also registered its name in the same list.
India's Mumbai first became the first to join the league with the Marrow Donor Registry India (MDRI).
MDRI will be a database of bone marrow donors and the donor marrow can be used treating patients fighting life-threatening blood disorders in India or abroad.

Bone marrow transplants are still a rarity in India, mainly because no there are no registries.
According to data, around 40,000 Indians suffering from blood disorders including leukaemia, aplastic anaemia, sickle-cell anaemia and such, lost their lives for want of donors, and just 30% of those have any chance of finding a match within their families, whereas the remaining have to depend upon unrelated donors.

At a seminar on Saturday, Dr. Sunil Parekh, haematologist at Bombay Hospital, stated, The intention of setting up a bone marrow registry with a national reach was to eliminate these problems that patients encounter.

The bone marrow registry is housed in Parel’s Tata Memorial Hospital, and has already recorded 1,349 donors. The All India Institute of Medical Science, Delhi started the first marrow donor registry in India.

The marrow donor registry at Tata has an advisory panel with specialists and will have access to international databases also.
 
“It is connected to registries in Australia, Japan, France, Germany, Scandinavia, Italy, Denmark, the US and UK,” said Dr. Ashok Kirpalani of the Indian Society of Organ Transplant, the NGO that worked closely with Tata Hospital to set up the registry.
 
Representatives from the registry will go to colleges and business houses in order to find donors.
 
According to Kirpalani, in the absence of donor registries in India, patients face two problems, “First it is hard to find a donor-match for a patient in India in western registries due to our genetic differences. Second Indians who are able to find a match, have to go abroad for the transplant costing Rs1 crore to Rs1.5 crore.”
 
Dr. Mammen Chandy of the CMC Hospital, Vellore, said there was a great requirement for an Indian registry.
During the last nine months, the CMC has carried out only nine transplants, and the bone marrow had to be brought in from Germany and the US.

Great news Narendra, Nice Sharing...
Thanx for sharing this valuable info and keep sharing news such like this one.

Umair

Hi Frnds

Even Singapore has a Bone Marrow doantion programme initiated. They have combined it with the blood donation drives. AS soon as the participants come for blood donations the bone marrow people approach and ask for a sample to put in the database.  The sample is sent for testing and then the information stored in the central database .In case there is a match and they need the  Bone marrow they willl contact for the bone marrow donation.

Awareness is growing - we are on a brink of a cure.

Puja