- Netcare Kuils River Hospital has expanded its Haemalife Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) unit, increasing capacity to 19 beds and making it one of the largest in South Africa.
- The unit, which opened eight and a half years ago, provides specialized care for patients with life-threatening blood cancers and disorders.
- The expansion highlights the need for more South Africans to register as bone marrow donors to improve the chances of finding life-saving matches.
For some people with life-threatening blood cancers, a bone marrow transplant may be their only remaining treatment option. The launch of the upgraded and expanded Haemalife Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) unit at Netcare Kuils River Hospital signals more hope and an opportunity to create lifesaving awareness of South Africa’s bone marrow donor registry programmes.
says hospital manager, Dirk Truter.
“We thank Dr Hannes Koornhof and Dr Pieter de Witt, the founding haematologists of the Haemalife practice, as well as their colleagues Dr Michael Cass, Dr Simon Brett, medical officer, Dr Liza Stockland, and all members of this immensely caring team for their dedication to improving the facilities and growing the expertise available to help our patients and their families.”
Koornhof says the BMT Unit opened eight and a half years ago with eight beds and was soon at full occupancy. The unit’s first of many successful bone marrow transplants was performed in February 2016.
“While the expansion of capacity is welcome news for patients who urgently need treatment and their referring doctors, there is also an urgent need for more South Africans to consider registering as potential bone marrow donors to contribute more diversity to the international bone marrow donor registry and increase the hope of finding suitable life-saving matches both at home and elsewhere in the world.
“Specialised single isolation rooms, each with their own en suite bathroom and ventilation system, are required when a person has a bone marrow transplant or intensive chemotherapy,” says Cass.
“Before a bone marrow transplant, we need to suppress the person’s immune system with chemotherapy and specialised medications to reduce the risk of the patient’s body rejecting the introduced donated stem cells. For this reason, a very controlled environment is needed to protect the patient for three to six weeks,” he explains.
Donors needed
With the department of health’s approval of the application, the BMT unit has now been expanded to 19 beds.
The original isolation suites have been upgraded, and an upper level of isolation suites has been added on the floor above with an interlinking staircase, making this one of the country’s largest bone marrow transplant units. “Bone marrow transplants may be indicated for leukaemia, multiple myeloma or lymphoma, or when a person’s body is unable to produce enough healthy blood cells due to a health condition or from the effects of prolonged treatment,” De Witt says.
The Netcare Kuils River Hospital unit is the only facility in the northern suburbs to provide bone marrow transplants and treat acute leukaemia.
Services provided
Although adult patients are the focus, the unit also treats patients as young as 10 years old. Services are provided for all stages of treatment, including survivorship and palliative services that support the patient and their loved ones throughout.
The newest haematologist to join the multidisciplinary team, Dr Simon Brett, says some patients may be able to receive a bone marrow stem cell donation from a family member if there is a close enough tissue match between them.
Registering as a bone marrow donor is free of charge and non-invasive, and could save a life.
Visit www.sabmr.co.za and www.dkms-africa.org for more information.
