City first in India to have bone marrow database

MUMBAI: So far, only countries like the US, the UK and Canada had marrow donor registries. Now, India has joined the league with the Marrow Donor Registry India (MDRI). It will be a database of bone marrow donors and the donor marrow can be used for treatment of patients in India or abroad.
Leukemia and thalassaemia patients will now have reason to cheer as their hunt for matching donors will be made simpler.Through the MDRI, they can now have access to a list of donors for stem cell replacement. Mumbai will be the first city to have the database, replete with names of donors and addresses along with an analysis of their blood as well as saliva samples. The registry, limited to Mumbai for now, will be launched in Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata in the near future.
The advantage, say doctors, is that patients can get unrelated donor marrow transplants. "Every year, nearly 40,000 patients in India die because unrelated marrow transplant facilities are not available in India,'' Ashok Kriplani of Bombay Hospital said.