By Pradeep Prasanna Samarakkody
The Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at the Maharagama Apeksha Hospital, which requires eight specialist doctors, currently operates with only four, according to Dr Buddhika Somawardhana, a haematology and blood cancer specialist at the hospital. He made those remarks during a media briefing held at the Colombo Health Promotion Bureau.
Dr Somawardhana emphasised that the shortage of specialists had persisted for a considerable period. The Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at Apeksha Hospital is the first of its kind established within a government hospital in Sri Lanka. To date, the unit has successfully performed over 300 bone marrow transplant surgeries.
Dr. Somawardhana also highlighted that the government spends more than 5 million rupees per patient for each bone marrow transplant procedure. Dr Somawardhana said health authorities had been informed of the shortage of specialists.