Kenyans with blood disorders will no longer be required to travel out of the country for the bone marrow transplant.
This is after The Nairobi West Hospital begun offering the services, with the first patient having undergone the process.
It becomes the first hospital to offer the service.
The 55 year old patient who was having multiple myeloma underwent the procedure on October 10 and is expected to be discharged from the facility in two days.
The process according to the hospital management is expected to cost between Sh2.5 million to Sh3.5 million which will be lower than travelling out of the country.
“One thing we are conscious about is the cost. Currently we are working on packages because every individual every disease, every condition is unique but on average we will keep the cost very low an manageable,” Chief Medical Director at the hospital Prof Andrew Kanyi said.
“We are going to collaborate with insurance companies we are already in advanced talks with NHIF on how this can be managed especially in terms of cost,” Kanyi added.
A bone marrow transplant, also known as a stem cell transplant, is a medical treatment that replaces your bone marrow or your blood with healthy cells.
The procedure thus restores your body's ability to create the red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets it needs.
The replacement cells can either come from your own body or from a donor and can be used to treat certain types of cancer, such as leukemia, myeloma, and lymphoma, and other blood and immune system diseases that affect the bone marrow.