First stem cell transplant at Tokai successful

THE Haematology Unit at Melomed Tokai treats a range of blood- related organ disorders and with only about 50 Haematologists in the country the hospital is at the cutting edge of diagnosing, t r eating and monitoring patients with illnesses of the blood and bone marrow. Head of t he Unit, Dr Shahroch Nahrwar, a Specialist, says that Haematological tests at the new hospital are performed with stateof-the-art technology on blood samples to diagnose diseases such as leukaemia and disorders to do with blood clotting.

“There are so many aspects of internal medicine in which the blood plays such a critical role that the Haematologist works closely with other disciplines and departments in the hospital, from the Oncologist to the Cardiologist.

“Blood flows everywhere in your body and lymph nodes are throughout the body, so many organs in the body are indirectly influenced by the blood,” says Nahrwar.

He says the haematologist conducts bone marrow transplants or stem cell replacements in cases of cancer of bloodrelated organs or bone marrow failure such as leukaemia.

“Haematology is one of the few divisions of internal medicine that has a strong component of oncology, especially pertaining to bone marrow and lymph nodes, because immune cells can become cancerous.

“For example, the lung tissue can become cancerous, but then the disorder is treated by an Oncologist; it is rare that cancer of a specific organ is treated by that specific organ specialist, but blood related cancer like lymph node cancers are primarily treated by a Haematologist,” says Nahrwar.

He says Melomed Tokai’s Haematology Unit, which is the first of its kind within the hospital group, is also equipped with the facilities to conduct stem cell transplants, which is a special field in which stem cells can be given from a healthy donor to a sick patient. The first such transplant at Melomed Tokai was successfully conducted last week from a sibling to a patient with leukaemia, which is a feather in the hospital’s haematological cap. Nahrwar says the Melomed group is doing an excellent job of making specialised healthcare services and quality private healthcare accessible to the l ess privileged and emerging population of South Africa whilst still offering state-of-the-art service.