Sri Lanka’s first allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) was performed at the Clinical Haematology and Bone Marrow Transplant Centre at Asiri Central Hospital (ACH) in June 2014, marking a significant milestone in the nation’s medical history. This life-saving procedure became accessible to many patients who could not afford to travel overseas for treatment. Asiri Central Hospital celebrates the 10th anniversary of this pioneering effort in June 2024.
A heartfelt message is shared by a patient who survived a bone marrow transplant
Deputy Chief Nursing Officer, Head Nurse of the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, Asiri Central Hospital Thamara Mahawatte addressing the gathering
The hospital’s BMT team is led by Prof. Lallindra Gooneratne, Professor in the Department of Pathology, and Honorary Consultant Haematologist, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, and the Director of the Clinical Haematology and Bone Marrow Transplant unit at Asiri Central Hospital since its inception. He, together with Dr. Ruwangi Dissanayake, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine University of Colombo and Consultant Paediatrician at Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH) and a team of dedicated nurses pioneered BMT in Sri Lanka.
The initial BMT procedures were supported by Dr. Lawrence Faulkner and the Cure-2-children foundation from Italy, who provided hands-on training and virtual sessions.
The BMT team at ACH shares their experience by way of training and mentoring start-up transplant teams in state hospitals, such as LRH and Teaching Hospital, Jaffna.
BMT involves replacing diseased bone marrow with healthy stem cells from a genetically compatible donor. Advances in BMT techniques now allow for transplants with just a 50 percent genetic match, making the procedure more accessible. The BMT unit at Asiri Central has also adopted and mastered this technique and has been performing such ‘haplo-identical transplants’ over the past few years.
They have also been doing unrelated donor transplants, where stem cells from compatible donors in other countries such as India are flown to Sri Lanka and provided to the patient.
BMT is a life-saving procedure for treating conditions like aplastic anaemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, certain leukaemias, lymphomas, thalassaemia, immunodeficiency disorders, and multiple myeloma. Over the past decade, the BMT unit has saved many lives and formed long-term relationships with patients and their families.
The unit also treats various blood and bone marrow cancers such as leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma by offering chemotherapy either as an ‘in-patient’ or ‘day-care’ service.
The BMT Unit at Asiri Central is accredited by the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo, as a training facility for postgraduate trainees in Clinical Haematology.
The team comprises experienced consultants in haematology, clinical haematology, paediatrics, adult medicine, transfusion medicine, nephrology, psychiatry, radiology, microbiology, radiation oncology, paediatric surgery, anaesthesiology, genetics, and intensive care. The nursing team, led by Sister Mahawatte, is very committed and experienced.
