Bone Marrow Registry: Bone marrow registry in state to be a reality soon

The Health Department in Thiruvananthapuram has approved the establishment of the first Kerala bone marrow registry in collaboration with the Malabar Cancer Centre. This registry aims to address the challenges in finding suitable stem cells for leukaemia patients by creating a database to increase the availability of matching stem cells and reduce the cost of bone marrow transplants. The registry will be integrated with the Kerala cancer registry to facilitate quick availability of bone marrow to eligible patients. Donors and recipients will be selected according to guidelines from the World Marrow Donor Association, allowing patients from Kerala to find potential donors worldwide. The use of artificial intelligence will help predict donor-patient matching and transplant success rates. MCC is conducting awareness programs to increase the number of donors for bone marrow transplants.