Baku: The opening ceremony of the Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit was held at Liv Bona Dea Hospital, attended by Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Leyla Aliyeva, and Minister of Health, Teymur Musayev. Leyla Aliyeva visited a young patient receiving treatment under the foundation’s auspices, inquiring about the child’s health and presenting a gift before the official opening of the unit.

According to Azeri-Press News Agency, the newly inaugurated unit will perform bone marrow transplantations for both adults and children, featuring six specially isolated wards. This infrastructure is designed to accommodate and treat up to 80 patients annually. The hospital also offers an eight-bed haematology department. All wards are equipped with a modern HEPA-filtered positive pressure system to protect patients from infections. Chemotherapy preparations are made in biosafety cabinets, and cell collection occurs in an independent apheresis unit.

The Blood Bank at the hospital is equipped to prepare erythrocytes, platelets, plasma, and other components, including granulocyte suspension. Regular irradiation and filtration procedures ensure the safety of transplant patients. The Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit was established based on a license issued in accordance with the Decision of the Cabinet of Ministers, which amended the ‘List of Specialized Medical Institutions Performing Organ Transplantation,’ as approved by the Cabinet on 20 August 2021.

Bone marrow and stem cell transplantation is a modern medical procedure for treating haematological and oncological diseases. The process involves transplanting stem cells obtained from the patient (autologous) or a donor (allogeneic) into the body after high-dose chemotherapy to replace diseased bone marrow with healthy cells and restore blood formation.