DKMS Foundation India inaugurated a new Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Unit in Ahmedabad. Designed to meet the growing demand for stem cell transplantations in the region, the new centre includes 10 specialised pediatric BMT beds, alongside essential apheresis care facilities, an outpatient centre and more than 26 professionals, including four doctors and 14 nurses. The non-profit organisation Sankalp India Foundation operates the new unit with the medical advice support of Cure2Children on the premises of Health1 Super Specialty Hospital, Ahmedabad.
India faces a pressing healthcare challenge: over 12,000 children are born each year with thalassemia, a hereditary blood disorder that causes severe anaemia. These children often require lifelong blood transfusions, and without proper treatment, many do not survive beyond the age of 20. Bone marrow transplantation offers the only curative option, but access remains limited due to financial and logistical barriers.
To bridge this gap, DKMS through its Access to Transplantation programme has committed 31.15 million Rupees (approximately 350,000 euros) to fund the new BMT unit.
It is the second BMT unit in India funded by DKMS, in memory of Mechtild Harf, the late wife of DKMS founder Peter Harf. The first BMT unit in Bengaluru, established in 2021 is also operated by Sankalp in collaboration with Cure2Children.