Doctors from Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) and scientists from India this week concluded the first bone-marrow transplant conference in Kampala, as the institute prepares to conduct its first bone-marrow transplant within three years.
Dr Nixon Niyonzima, the head of research and training at UCI, said during the conference that transplantation in Uganda would save more lives by increasing access to care.
People who can afford the costs of bone marrow transplant go to foreign countries for expensive medical procedures which cost around Shs74 million.
Dr Niyonzima, without divulging the exact amount people may have to pay for the transplant, said the cost in Uganda would be lower.
Dr Francis Ssali, the Deputy Executive Director of the Joint Clinical Research Centre, said in a separate interview that people pay a lot more in foreign countries because the latter’s human resources require higher payment and also that maintaining a patient is expensive because of the generally high cost of living.
Dr Niyonzima revealed that they have started construction of a transplant facility funded by the African Development Bank.
Dr Niyonzima said beyond cancer, UCI was looking to expand bone-marrow transplants to treat other illnesses.
