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 auspices of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, inquired about the child’s health, and presented a gift before officially opening the new unit.

According to Azerbaijan State News Agency, the Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit will provide services for both adults and children, featuring six specially isolated wards. This infrastructure is designed to accommodate and treat up to 80 patients annually. Additionally, the hospital has an eight-bed haematology department equipped with modern HEPA-filtered positive pressure systems to protect patients from infections. Chemotherapy preparations occur in biosafety cabinets, and cell collection is conducted in an independent apheresis unit.

The hospital’s Blood Bank is equipped to prepare various blood components, including erythrocytes, platelets, plasma, and granulocyte suspension, with irradiation and filtration procedures regularly applied to ensure the safety of transplant patients. The Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit was established based on a license from the Cabinet of Ministers, following an amendment to the list of specialized medical institutions authorized to perform organ transplantation, approved on 20 August 2021.

Bone marrow and stem cell transplantation are effective medical procedures for treating haematological and oncological diseases. Transplantation involves replacing diseased bone marrow with healthy stem cells, which can be obtained from the patient (autologous) or a donor (allogeneic), after high-dose chemotherapy, with the goal of restoring blood formation.