New Delhi, Aug 22 (IANS): A team of doctors successfully performed the maiden bone marrow transplant at the Safdarjung Hospital here.

The 45-year-old woman patient was admitted on August 1 and the bone marrow transplant was performed on August 5, as per the statement issued by the hospital.

The transplant was carried out at the BMT unit of the hospital which was inaugurated in June.

"The patient with multiple myeloma underwent the process of autologous bone marrow transplant. The stem cells of own body is preserved before infusion of cytotoxic drug and preserved stem cells are re-infused in the body of patients. It takes around 12 days for engraftment of stem cells in the patient’s bone marrow," said Dr Kaushal Kalra, in-charge of Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) unit.

Dr Kalra said, "Now the patient has been fully recovered and ready to discharge from Safdarjung Hospital."

Medical Superintendent of Safdarjung Hospital Dr Vandana Talwar said, "It was the first among all Central government hospitals. The facility is a life saving procedure for the patients with Multiple Myeloma, Lymphoma and other Hematological Malignancies."

Dr Talwar added that bone marrow transplant costs around Rs 10-15 lakh in private setup but it was done in Safdarjung Hospital at negligible cost.