Transplant Programs in APBMT: Blood and Marrow Transplant Activity Report from Myanmar APBMT Meeting 2018, Taiwan

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) was introduced in Myanmar in 2014 and was first performed in a patient with multiple myeloma at the North Okkalapa General and Teaching Hospital. From 2014 to 2016,transplantation activities were in the preliminary stage of establishing the infrastructure and gradually developing capacity-building. In 2016, the Yangon General Hospital also commenced autologous transplantation for myeloma. Five autologous transplants were performed in Myanmar during 2016 in patients with myeloma, using high-dose melphalan and non-cryopreserved peripheral blood stem cell rescue. Despite the lack of a National Registry system, all cases were reported in the activity survey due to their small number. The National Marrow Donor Program has not been implemented in Myanmar yet. The major limitation in promoting HSCT in Myanmar is the unavailability of health insurance coverage for blood and marrow transplantation (BMT). The patients who received transplantation were partly supported by the government and partly by their families through out-of-pocket expenses. However, despite limited resources, there has been substantial progress in the human resource development for BMT in Myanmar. Under the leadership of The Asia Pacific Blood and Marrow Transplantation Group (APBMT), several transplant centers in the Asia-Pacific region have been supporting Myanmar to establish transplantation activities and capacity-building for promoting HSCT in patients from Myanmar.