First bone marrow transplantation performed in Armenia

Today, on April 10, the first bone marrow stem cells transplantation was performed in Armenia on two patients with myeloma, malignant blood disease.

The first patient was a 50-year-old woman from Artsakh. Smbat Daghbashyan, director of the Hematology Center named after Yolian, told journalists that the patient had received chemotherapy in the past, but it did not have the expected effect. After failed chemo the woman should get a bone marrow transplant, for which she was supposed to go abroad. However, she decided to entrust her health to Armenian specialists. The new building of the hematology center was just rebuilt, and the local transplant specialists were trained in Europe, ready to perform the first transplantation procedures in Armenia.

The second patient was a man from Armenia. His wife told Armenian reporters that he had been sick for a year, and he was suffering severe pain and had frequent fractures. He also had indications for a bone marrow transplantation, which could give him the opportunity to return to normal life.

The first two transplantations were conducted under the guidance of Professor Nicolaus Kröger, Head of Transplantology at the Hamburg-Ependorf Clinic. Later, when they become more experienced, Armenian specialists will be able to carry out transplantation independently.

Every year, about 60 patients in Armenia need bone marrow stem cell transplantation. This year, Armenian specialists plan to perform about 7-10 autotransplantation procedures. In the future they will also start performing allotransplantation operations.

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