How to choose the best hospital for bone marrow transplant?
While choosing the best medical center for bone marrow (stem cells) transplant, pay attention to such factors:
- Types of performed BMTs. There are 2 main types of bone marrow transplant — autologous (transplant of own stem cells) and allogeneic (transplant from a donor — related or unrelated). The hospital must be specialized in a BMT type you need. In case, an unrelated allogeneic bone marrow transplant is prescribed, the medical center must have access to a donor bank to perform the procedure as soon as possible.
- Doctor's experience. The main criterion of doctor's expertise in bone marrow transplant is how many procedures a specialist has been performed. The most experienced doctors have over 300-500 such procedures on their account.
- The cost of the procedure. Some people may think that bone marrow transplant is a costly procedure. In some cases, this is true. However such countries as Turkey or India can offer the cost 2-4 times cheaper than in Germany, Italy or Spain. The low price does not affect the success of BMT — the procedure in Turkish or Indian clinics is carried out under strict international protocols.
- The patient's age limit. Some bone marrow transplant centers do not serve children or patients under 16. Specify in your request a patient's age to choose the appropriate medical center.
- Time of treatment arrangements. The speed of treatment arrangements matters a lot. Some medical centers can do it faster, but some — may slow down the process. Always specify how much time it takes to do all necessary paperwork and start treatment.
It can be a little stressful for people who face the choice of the best hospital for bone marrow transplant. As far as the success of the procedure and somebody's life can depend on their choice. Bookimed has already helped hundreds of patients who needed a bone marrow transplant, and we know all the details regarding the BMT process, donor's searching, documents processing, pros and cons of every country and medical center. If you want to find the most suitable medical center in your case, submit a request on Bookimed. Our medical coordinator will answer all your questions and help with hospital and doctor searching. Our consultation is absolutely free.
What is the best place to get a bone marrow transplant?
Turkey
Bone marrow transplant centers in Turkey work following international medical standards. Some of them have received a certificate from the European Group for Blood and Bone Marrow Transplantation (EBMT). It confirms a high level of doctors' qualification, medical equipment of laboratories and BMT units.
The main benefit of bone marrow transplant in Turkey is affordable price without quality loss. The cost of the procedure is 1.5-3 times lower than in Europe or Israel. This is explained by different general price policies for medical services in these countries.
A top specialist for bone marrow transplant in Turkey is Dr. Zafer Gülbaş working at Anadolu Medical Center. He has over 30 years in onco-hematology. The doctor practiced in the USA, Canada, and Israel.
Israel
Bookimed cooperates with Israeli hospitals that have over 2,000 BMTs on their account. This makes Israeli onco-hematologists one of the most experienced in the world.
There is no age restriction for international patients to perform bone marrow transplant. One of the best BMT hospitals for children is Hadassah Medical Center, where over 1,500 stem cell transplants have been carried out to children.
The cost of BMT in Israel is 2-2.5 higher than in Turkey
Germany
Germany is considered one of the most developed countries to treat severe diseases, including disorders related to the blood pathologies. Experienced doctors included to the rankings of top specialists according to the Focus magazine and Leading Medicine medical site perform bone marrow transplant in Germany. The rankings are based on treatment effectiveness and patient reviews.
The cost of BMT in Germany is 1.5 times higher than in Israel, and 2-4 times than in Turkey. German hospitals do not accept children to perform a bone marrow transplant.
Which bone marrow transplant centers provide the best statistics?
The BMT hospitals listed on this page show about the same high-level statistics. However, according to Bookimed patient reviews, the best centers for bone marrow transplant are:
- Anadolu Medical Center (Turkey). Serves patients over 16 years old. Over 250 BMTs are performed annually.
- Sant Joan de Deu (Spain). Serves children up to 21 years old. Up to 100% is a success rate for bone marrow transplant (it may differ depending on BMT type).
- Hadassah Medical Center. Serves adults and children. Over 3,500 bone marrow for adults and 1,500 procedures for children have been carried out.
Submit a request to choose the best BMT center in your case. This option is free.
How fast a bone marrow transplant can be performed?
The speed of bone marrow arrangement in hospitals depends on many factors. Among the key ones are:
- Type of BMT. The arrangement of autologous bone marrow transplant or allogeneic from the related donor takes much less time than from unrelated donor. It may take several months to find a donor for a patient.
- Visa issue. If you need a visa to cross the border, it takes some time to apply for it. If the hospital sends an invitation to you, the process is speeded significantly.
- Patient health condition. In most of the cases, bone marrow transplant is performed, when a patient is in remission (after chemo treatment, for instance). The medical condition of each patient is considered individually by a doctor.
If there is no extra issues, the treatment can be arranged within 2-14 days after request on Bookimed website.
How long should I wait for a donor?
First of all, you choose the hospital for a bone marrow transplant, and then a doctor decides whether unrelated allogeneic BMT is suitable for you. If yes, the doctor initiates the searching for a donor in a local donor bank, and then (if necessary) in the world’s donor bank.
The searching may take from several weeks to months. When a suitable donor is found, it takes about 2 weeks to make all medical tests. Then, a donor's material is sent to a hospital.
Note that searching for a donor can increase the total bone marrow transplant cost by about $10,000.
How is bone marrow transplant (stem cells) conducted?
A bone marrow transplant is not a surgery!
The procedure is very similar to blood transfusion. Let's consider its steps.
- Harvesting of stem cells. To collect donor's or patient's bone marrow, a doctor makes an incision in the pelvic area and takes the necessary amount of bone marrow with a needle. The procedure lasts about 30-60 minutes.
- Bone marrow transplant. A doctor administers bone marrow cells intravenously to a patient. The transplanted bone marrow cells start adapting and producing new blood cells.
Before the procedure, a patient stays in a special sterile room called box to avoid infections. The bone marrow transplant is performed after the special preparation — a patient undergoes chemo or radiotherapy to destroy cancer cells and avoid the rejection.
Where is it possible to get a bone marrow transplant for children?
Not every bone marrow hospital in the world is ready to conduct a pediatric bone marrow transplant. However, there are some hospitals, where little patients can undergo the procedure with a high success rate. Among them are Hadassah Medical Center (Israel), Sourasky Medical Center (Israel), Sant Joan de Deu (Spain), Memorial Medical Center (Turkey), Medipol Medical Center (Turkey), San Raffaele Ospedale (Italy), etc.
Submit a request to get a cost of the procedure and schedule an appointment with a doctor. This option is free.
What affects the bone marrow transplant cost?
The cost of a bone marrow transplant procedure depends on the following factors:
- Country for the procedure. The cheapest bone marrow transplant is in India, then Turkey goes. The highest prices are in Israel, Germany, Italy, Spain, South Korea.
- BMT type. Autologous bone marrow transplant is the cheapest type as far as less medical tests and no donor searching are required. The most expensive one is allogeneic BMT from an unrelated donor.
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How to get an appointment at a top hospital for BMT?
- Compare the info and prices provided by each hospital for bone marrow transplant at this page.
- Submit the request on Bookimed website.
- Our medical coordinator will contact you to answer all questions and find out your preferences.
- According to the patient diagnosis, age, and health condition, Bookimed coordinator will help to choose the most suitable option in your case.
- Then, the patient's medical records are sent to a chosen hospital to receive a cost estimate and approve the appointment.
- If you approve the bill, we start to arrange your medical travel to a chosen medical center.
Bookimed services are free for a patient. You pay directly to a clinic.