Cuttack, May 8: The clinical haematology department at SCB Medical College and Hospital here will set up an advanced genetic laboratory for early screening and management of patients suffering from various blood diseases.

The lab will be established in the proposed molecular laboratory in the department as part of an expansion of the bone marrow transplant centre at an estimated cost of Rs 2 crore.

The state-of-the-art lab will be able to diagnose thalassemia, sickle cell diseases (a group of genetically passed down blood disorders). The diagnosis of blood-related diseases at an early stage can help couples have a healthy child.

"The state government has already allocated the funds and we plan to make the genetic lab functional within a year," said haematology department head R.K. Jena.

He said the proposed molecular lab would allow doctors of the state-run hospital perform allogeneic bone marrow transplant (stem cells are donated to the patient by a genetically matched stem cell donor).

At present, the hospital only performs autologous bone marrow transplant (stem cells come from the patient himself). It has done 30 transplants since its introduction in 2014.

In autologous transplant, the stem cells collected from a patient are stored using cryo-preservation system, which are transplanted back after administering high dose of chemotherapy to kill cancer cells.

The cost of autologous bone marrow transplant is around Rs 80,000 at SCB Medical College and Hospital, which is met from the Odisha State Treatment Fund and other assistance from various pharmaceutical companies.

It costs between Rs 8 and 13 lakh at private hospitals in the state and across India.

Official sources said the cost of allogeneic bone marrow transplant would be around Rs 5 to 7 lakh at SCB while it would cost Rs 25 to 40 lakh at private hospitals.

"We are going to start the allogeneic bone marrow transplant in the next one month and it will be of great help to hundreds of patients in the state," Jena added.

At present, the existing bone marrow transplant unit has two bone marrow transplant rooms with Hepa filter system. The American Society of Haematology and Tata Medical Centre, Calcutta, are lending technical support to the programme.

The bone marrow transplant unit at SCB is also equipped with modern facilities, including flow cytometer, stem cell apheresis, controlled rate freezer and liquid nitrogen storage systems.