[sheba]

Stem cell transplant centers in Asia?

by sheba on Mon Apr 21, 2014 7:49 am

I hope someone can help me. I am looking for a list of good treatment centers in Asia that offer stem cell transplant.

My father has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma and is currently seeking treatment at MD Anderson in Houston, treatment. His doctors there are wonderful and they have told him that he is an excellent candidate for SCT. The only problem is that my father is an international patient and is uninsured.

So far, all his treatment has been paid for by his personal savings, which have now been about $200K to date. For the SCT, the hospital has quoted him an additional $350K-$500K for the treatment, which is a lot of money for us, and MD Anderson does not provide any financial assistance for international patients.

As such, we are wondering if there are other hospitals that offer affordable SCT. I heard there are good hospitals in China and India. In our home country (Philippines), we went to the best hospital and they told my father that he is not a candidate, plus his hematologist was not good at all, so the Philippines is out of the question.

Thanks.

[Beacon Staff]

Re: Stem cell transplant centers in Asia?

by Beacon Staff on Mon Apr 21, 2014 9:21 am

Hello Sheba,

We suspect your lowest cost options for a stem cell transplant in Asia are going to be in either China or India. From what we have heard, stem cell transplant centers in India are open to having patients from outside India. Many, in fact, actively seek such patients. We don't know, however, how much that is the case for China. There also are likely to be more substantial language issues attempting to organize and pay for a transplant in China.

In addition to China and India, you also will want to consider Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. We know from people who have posted here in the forum that Singapore is a frequent destination for myeloma patients from other parts of Asia. We don't know to what extent that's the case for Australia and New Zealand (although we could imagine it's not uncommon). We also suspect a transplant in Singapore, Australia, or New Zealand is likely to be more expensive than in India.

We will let others comment on potential centers you may want to consider in Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand.

For India, please see this posting that we just made of stem cell transplant centers in India.

We also have a posting with a preliminary list of multiple myeloma specialists in India.

And we now also have a separate thread focused solely on stem cell transplant centers in Singapore.

Best of luck to you and, especially, your father.

[sheba]

Re: Stem cell transplant centers in Asia?

by sheba on Tue Apr 22, 2014 12:45 am

Thank you for the reply and for the suggestions. I will do some research for treatment centers in Singapore and will post some information here if I find any.

[DWang]

Re: Stem cell transplant centers in Asia?

by DWang on Tue Apr 22, 2014 5:45 am

I've seen several different hospitals in Singapore mentioned in this forum, including Singapore General Hospital (National Cancer Centre), National University Hospital, Raffles Hospital and Gleneagles Hospital.

[tpt]

Re: Stem cell transplant centers in Asia?

by tpt on Wed Apr 23, 2014 7:28 am

Hi there,

Singapore may be the best bang for the buck. They have qualified practitioners and medical facilities; and it is a very safe, hygiene, modern and multicultural country, which makes the culture shock much less compared to other countries (I am no Singaporean, but we go to Singapore for treatments). The cheapest one would be, in general, government hospitals. You can always bet on Singapore General Hospital.

In Singapore General Hospital, a typical Velcade injection (2.3mg, we pay per mg) would cost us about SGD 2,000. Stem cell harvest was SGD 40K, and stem cell transplant was SGD 60K. (And of course, it depends on how long you recover.) We did this back in 2012/2013, and I heard there has been a price increase of 5% this past month. So I don't know how much do these treatments cost today.

Message me if you want the details, I would be glad to share them with you.

Be strong!

Moderator note: 1 US dollar currently equals about 1.26 Singapore dollars. Thus, as an example, the stem cell harvest cost of 40,000 Singapore dollars equals about 31,750 U.S. dollars.

[Beacon Staff]

Re: Stem cell transplant centers in Asia?

by Beacon Staff on Wed Apr 23, 2014 10:18 am

Thanks for this very helpful information, tpt.

[sheba]

Re: Stem cell transplant centers in Asia?

by sheba on Fri Apr 25, 2014 2:52 am

Thank you TPT! I sent you a private message.

At the NUHS, this is what they sent me after I sent over my father's medical records

"The estimated cost for the Bone Marrow Transplant will be about S$150,000 and above for a non-complicated case and this estimation is before consulting the specialist. The estimation is exclusive of consultation fee, medications, investigations, own accommodation and 7%GST. Full amount of the above mentioned cost will be required upon admission."

At the Parkway Hospitals, they sent me this:

For the transplant, this will involve two stages: Stem Cell Harvest. This will involve the patient receiving injections to stimulate his bone marrow, followed by a 2-3 day peripheral blood stem cell harvest. The cost of the stem cell harvest will be approximately $12,000-$15,000 SGD. Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation. This will involve the patient receiving high dose melphalan chemotherapy, followed by stem cell infusion. Recovery period post transplant will take a period of 2-3 weeks. The cost of the autologous stem cell transplant (including high dose chemotherapy, stem cell infusion, 3 weeks in-patient stay) will be approximately $80,000-$100,000 SGD.

We will look into Singapore General Hospital as well tpt suggested. Thanks.

[Tarun C]

Re: Stem cell transplant centers in Asia?

by Tarun C on Sun Jun 08, 2014 2:09 am

Hello Sheba/Beacon Staff,

I'm in a similar situation. A dear one has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, and we were also looking at treatment in Singapore. I just wanted to ask you whether you've gone for the course in Singapore, and if yes, how has the experience been so far? We are planning to go for stem cell therapy after completing the chemotherapy, and we thought it would be helpful to talk to someone who is facing a similar situation. Please do let me know at the earliest. Thank you.

Warm Regards,
Tarun C

[singaporemyeloma]

Re: Stem cell transplant centers in Asia?

by singaporemyeloma on Sat Oct 18, 2014 4:18 am

Hi,

I am a physician working at SIngapore General Hospital. We routinely do autologous BMT for myeloma and other conditions.

Thanks
Sathish Kumar
Haematology Consultant and Director of Myeloma Service
Singapore General Hospital, Singapore