Frequently Asked Questions

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) occurs when your kidneys have been malfunctioning for more than 3 months. It’s an irreparable, life threatening condition and there might be no visible symptoms at all. Diabetes (types 1 and 2), high blood pressure, immune system diseases such as Lupus and chronic viral illnesses like AIDS, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C can also cause kidney failure. The other reasons for kidney failure include: Multiple episodes of urinary tract infection Post-strep infection Polycystic kidney disease Inherited kidney diseases Congenital or birth defects - In many cases, the defect is rectified while the baby is still in mother’s womb; whereas those with major complications can only be managed at a later stage. Drugs and toxins, including long-term use medications like NSAIDs (Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs Long-term exposure to certain chemicals

It is very important to visit your consulting doctor regularly and undergo all prescribed follow-ups and test to make sure that your new kidney is functioning well. Remember, a transplant surgery is a second chance at life and you need to be responsible for your own well-being.

Bone Marrow Transplant and Haematopoietic Stem cell Transplant are non-surgical modes of treatment to cure advanced stages of malignancies as well as non-malignant haematological diseases and multiple other disorders. As the name suggests, bone marrow transplant and peripheral blood stem cell transplant mean replacing or restoring dysfunctional cells with healthy cells.The diseased cells in your body are first destroyed completely through conditioning therapy, which is inducing high doses of chemotherapy or irradiation.You’ll be then infused with healthy cells that will start multiplying on their own in about 2 to 3 weeks.

Bone marrow is the soft, sponge-like material found inside your bones and contains immature cells known as hematopoietic or blood-forming cells. The Hematopoietic cells keep dividing into more blood-forming cells; and mature into one of three types of blood cells: infection-fighting white blood cells, oxygen-carrying red blood cells and clot-forming platelets. Though most hematopoietic stem cells are found in the bone marrow, some cells called peripheral blood stem cells are found in your bloodstream. Blood in the umbilical cord also contains hematopoietic cells. Cells from any of these sources can also be used in transplant.

​The first step to BMT and PBSCT is destroying the diseased cells from your body through high doses of chemotherapy or radiation called conditioning. At Aster Medcity, we have the most advanced technology for these procedures, including Kerala’s first True Beam Linear Accelerator and dedicated radiotherapy rooms to ensure maximum patient safety. All radiotherapy treatments we provide are based on NCCN (USA) and ESMO (Europe) guidelines. As cancerous cells divide faster than healthier cells, we can, through conditioning destroy the existing bone marrow cells so that we can infuse healthy, transplanted cells into your body effectively.

You will be infused with healthy, transplanted cells in the BMT unit through an IV line – just like you’d be on drips. As there will be no disease -fighting white blood cells and blood-clotting platelets after the conditioning, your susceptibility to infections will be extremely high. You’ll need to be extremely careful so that you don’t contract any infection and follow the doctor’s advise meticulously to avoid any complications. Since the stem cells used for autologous transplantation should relatively be free of cancer cells, the harvested cells can sometimes be treated before transplantation in a process known as “purging”. This process removes maximum cancer cells from the harvested cells and minimise the chance of reoccurrence.

Apart from susceptibility to infection and bleeding, you may experience short-term side effects such as nausea, vomiting, fatigue, loss of appetite, mouth sores, hair loss, and skin reactions. There are also potential long-term issues that your doctor will explain in detail to you before beginning the treatment.

Children and infants are also highly susceptible to heart disease and might require heart transplant due to severe cardiomyopathy (weak heart muscles) and congenital heart disease that cannot be medically managed. Some children who have already undergone corrective cardiac surgeries might also require heart transplant due to re-occurrence of problems (continued cardiac problems).

The donor from whom you get a new heart is usually someone who would have signed up for organ donation before he or she died. The heart is surgically removed, with the full consent of the donor’s family, once the donor is certified brain-dead. The availability of donor organs are informed through an organ sharing network and the recipient is chosen based on the best possible match – with respect to the blood type, body type, recipient’s medical condition, and the waiting period. The religion/ race/ gender of the donor or the recipient does not matter (in any organ transplant for that matter) while determining the match. All donors are mandatorily screened for Hepatitis B and C and for HIV. When it comes to paediatric heart transplants, we make sure that your child gets the best care possible. Our team of experts comprises Paediatric Cardiac Surgeons and Paediatric Interventional Cardiologists with decades of experience to their credit. We have specialised, state-of-the-art facilities for this programme including a Level 3 PICU that’s managed by internationally trained paediatric intensivists. Waiting for a heart can be quite distressful, but if everything goes well, it’s definitely a second chance at life.

Once a donor heart becomes available and all other factors are ascertained favourable, our entire transplant team gets ready for the surgery. Our transplant surgeon will remove the diseased heart of the patient, except the back walls of the atria - the heart’s upper chambers. The backs of the atria of the donated heart are opened and sewn into place; and blood vessels are connected, allowing the blood to flow to the heart and lungs. As the heart warms up, it starts beating. You’ll be able to sit up and walk within a few days after the surgery, and if there are no signs of organ rejection, you can go home in probably about two weeks.