Treatment of Bone Marrow Transplantation in Turkey

Bone marrow transplantation in Turkey is a complex procedure aimed at restoring hematopoietic function of bone marrow in patients with blood cancer and immunodeficiency diseases. Turkish hospitals offer not only bone marrow transplantation, but also comprehensive blood cancer management. The medical program for Turkish citizens and foreign patients includes precise preliminary diagnostic tests, finding the compatible donor, performing the bone marrow transplant and the subsequent procedures. In addition to high success rates, Turkish hospitals offer affordable treatment costs.

Who can undergo the procedure

The procedure of bone marrow transplantation is indicated for patients with cancer and a number of the benign health conditions. The main general indication is the necessity to restore hematopoietic function of the bone marrow after its damage (e.g. by irradiation or chemotherapeutic agents) or in the inherited pathologies.

First of all, the bone marrow transplantation is performed in patients with the following cancer types:

• Acute lymphocytic and myelogenous leukemia
• Chronic lymphocytic and myelogenous leukemia
• Myeloma, including the multiple myeloma
• Lymphoma, including Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas

Non-cancerous (benign) pathologies in which bone marrow transplantation is helpful are as follows:

• Thalassemia
• Aplastic anemia
• Sickle cell anemia
• Myelodysplastic syndrome
• Thrombocytopathies, coagulation factor deficiencies
• Severe immunodeficiencies

Depending on the particular clinical situation, bone marrow transplantation may be carried out in patients of different ages. Children more often receive the donor stem cells as the part of cancer treatment. Adult patients undergo bone marrow transplantation for both cancers and benign medical conditions.

How the procedure is performed

Stages of the autologous and allogeneic bone marrow transplantation are different. In the autologous bone marrow transplantation the following procedures are carried out:

1. Harvesting patient’s own stem cells from the peripheral blood. Prior to the procedure, a patient receives medications that activate stem cells division and, thus, increase their number in the peripheral blood.
2. Killing the diseased bone marrow. Patient receives high doses of chemotherapeutic agents or radiation therapy is performed.
3. Re-infusion of stem cells. Harvested and stored stem cells are injected back into a patient’s bloodstream through the catheter.
4. Post-procedure monitoring. A medical team monitors closely vital signs, administer antibiotics and manage possible side effects.

In case of the allogeneic bone marrow transplantation the process is slightly different:

1. Finding the suitable donor. The HLA testing is made in order to find the most compatible donor among patient’s relatives or in the volunteer registry of unrelated donors.
2. Harvesting donor stem cells. Stem cells may be collected from the peripheral blood or bone marrow. Transplant cost in Turkey depends on the type of donor stem cells, as harvesting them from the bone marrow is more complex.
3. Killing the diseased bone marrow. As in the previous medical scheme, a patient receives high-dose chemotherapy that may be followed by radiation therapy.
4. Re-infusion of donor stem cells. As in the previous medical scheme, donor stem cells are infused into a patient’s bloodstream through the catheter.
5. Post-procedure monitoring and recovery. In addition to the above mentioned measures, in case of allogeneic stem cells transplant patient also receives medications to prevent the graft versus host disease (GVHD).

Peculiarities of bone marrow transplantation in Turkey

Bone marrow transplant in Turkey attracts foreign residents not only with the low transplant cost in Turkey, but also with the quality of medical help provided. The main unique trades of bone marrow transplantation in Turkish hospitals are as follows:

1. Performing the preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) with HLA matching. Typically, PGD is the part of IVF procedure that allows avoiding the risk of genetic pathologies in embryos before their transfer inside a woman’s uterus. Nevertheless, the technique is also helpful for patients who do not have a genoidentical donor but still need bone marrow transplantation. In such patients bone marrow transplant in Turkey is preceded by the HLA matching with an unrelated donor.
2. Using different sources of stem cells or combining different types of stem cells. According to the conventional treatment protocols, doctors mainly harvest donor stem cells from the peripheral blood or bone marrow. Doctors who perform bone marrow transplant in Turkey may use both peripheral blood and bone marrow stem cells during the single procedure.
3. Paying close attention to the postprocedure quality of life. Turkish specialists assess a patient’s state using the Functional assessment of cancer therapy-bone marrow transplant scale. In addition to the conventional functional well-being subscale, it also includes the social well-being subscale and the family well-being subscale. After the assessment, healthcare professionals take care about improving the most worrying symptoms.

Best hospitals for bone marrow transplantation in Turkey

The bone marrow transplant in Turkey may be performed at hospitals that offer the comprehensive approach to cancer therapy (i.e. conduct surgeries, administer high-dose chemotherapy, etc.) or at hospitals that specialize exactly at bone marrow transplantation. The leading healthcare institutions in this medical sphere are Medicana International Ankara Hospital and Gaziosmanpasa Hospital of Yeniyuzyil University.

Medicana International Ankara Hospital, the Department of Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation. Due to the outstanding results in bone marrow transplantation, the Department for over 7 years has the special license of Ministry of Health in Turkey.

Under the direction of Dr. Ender Soydan, specialists of the Department perform bone marrow transplantation in patients with acute and chronic myeloid leukemia, plasmacytoma, lymphoma, myelofibrosis and myelodysplasia, immunodeficiency diseases, aplastic and sickle-cell anaemia, etc. Cost of medical and related services of the Department is rather affordable, as prices do not include extra fees for the foreigners.

Gaziosmanpasa Hospital of Yeniyuzyil University, the Department of Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation. Having 15 beds for the inpatient procedures, the Department is among the largest specialized medical institutions that carry out both autologous and allogeneic bone marrow transplant in Turkey. Medical personnel pay additional attention to patients’ safety – all rooms have the equipment for the intensive care, as well as the air conditioning and filtration system with automotive filters of high-efficiency (HEPA). The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method of the airflow simulating is also used here.

Due to the availability of the diverse bone marrow transplantation techniques, the Department admits patients with acute and chronic lymphocytic and myeloid leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, multiple myeloma, etc. At the Department patients can receive medical services at the relatively low costs, as the prices are lower compared to European countries and the USA.

Treatment in the best hospital abroad with Booking Health

As bone marrow transplantation in Turkey includes a number of procedures (finding a donor, checking compatibility between a donor an a patient, harvesting stem cells, performing bone marrow transplant, etc.), arrangement of medical program may be complicated for the foreign patients. Medical tourism provider Booking Health offers comprehensive help for facilitating bone marrow transplant in Turkey.

Booking Health specialists provide patients with the following services during bone marrow transplantation:

• Choosing the specialized hospital for blood cancer treatment and bone marrow transplantation based on its qualification profile
• Establishing communication with the selected physician
• Preparing the program of blood cancer diagnosis and treatment, including the bone marrow transplantation
• Providing favorable cost for bone marrow transplantation and relevant services, reducing transplant cost in Turkey due to excluding the additional fees (saving up to 50%)
• Booking the appointment for bone marrow transplant in Turkey
• Monitoring the bone marrow transplantation program at all stages
• Help in buying and forwarding drugs for continuing blood cancer therapy at home
• Communication with the clinic after bone marrow transplant in Turkey performing
• Control of treatment costs, as well as prices for relevant services; returning unspent funds
• Organization of additional examinations during blood cancer therapy
• Offering patients travel service of the highest level: booking hotels and plane tickets, transfer organization, interpreting services

To start planning bone marrow transplant in Turkey, you may leave the request on the Booking Health website. A patient case manager or medical advisor will contact you during 24 hours, discuss all the details, prices, and guide through further steps.