Doha, Qatar: A newly established Bone Marrow Transplant Joint Clinic (BMT Clinic) at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC)’s National Centre for Cancer Care and Research (NCCCR) has enhanced care for transplant patients and their donors.
The clinic focuses on improving long-term outcomes for bone marrow transplant patients, particularly those with blood cancers and disorders such as sickle cell disease and thalassaemia, according to the latest edition of NCCCR’s newsletter - News and Views.
The Bone Marrow Transplant Joint Clinic offers comprehensive services, including pre-transplant assessments, national and international donor searches, donor counselling and consent, early post-transplant management, and ongoing support through both in-person and virtual follow-up visits for both early and long-term patients.
Since its launch in 2015, the Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) programme at NCCCR has completed 263 stem cell transplants, achieving high success rates thanks to its expert teams, comprehensive care, and thorough assessments.
It includes 82 allogeneic (from a donor) and 181 autologous (patient’s own cells) transplants.
The programme is a member of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) and holds prestigious international accreditation from the Joint Commission International (JCI).
“The high success rate of Qatar’s BMT programme is due to its comprehensive support systems, experienced and dedicated teams in Hemato-Oncology, and the rigorous pre- and post-transplant assessments conducted by the BMT team.
This holistic approach ensures optimal patient outcomes,” the article on the Bone Marrow Transplant Joint Clinic states.
It also highlights that interdisciplinary expert teams in fields such as transfusion medicine, laboratory medicine, stem cell processing, radiology, radiotherapy, anaesthesiology, infectious disease, haematopathology, physiotherapy, dietary support, social work, psychiatry, and quality management play a key role in the programme’s success.
The Bone Marrow Transplant Joint Clinic is also focused on identifying suitable stem cell donors, assessing patient fitness for transplantation, facilitating early discharge, reducing urgent care visits, and minimising hospital visits through virtual consultations.
All of this is done while enhancing patients’ physical, emotional, and social well-being and ensuring continuity of care through close follow-up and informed decision-making.
The clinic operates five days a week in a safe environment designed for patients with weakened immune systems and is supported by a wide range of specialists.
