Bone marrow transplantation in thalassaemia patients in Shiraz, Islamic Republic of Iran

Abstract

We report the results of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in 26 female and 37 male patients with beta-thalassaemia major (age range: 2-17 years), performed at Namazi Hospital over the period 1992-99. In all cases, standard conditioning and immunosuppressive regimens were employed. Currently, 50 patients remain thalassaemia-free, 9 of whom have developed chronic graft-versus-host disease. There were 8 deaths among the 13 unsuccessful transplant cases: 4 due to acute uncontrollable graft-versus-host disease, and 4 to non-transplant-related causes such as hypoglycaemia, hypersensitivity reactions and advanced disease. We conclude that allogeneic bone marrow transplantation is an effective therapy for the treatment of beta-thalassaemia major, particularly for patients classified as classes I and II.