Find out the bone marrow transplant price, an affordable place to have a transplant, and how to find the hospital right for you with Bookimed. We have carefully selected TOP 5 hospitals out of 50 listed on the website concerning their success rates, experienced medical team, special equipment, reviews of our patients and the bone marrow transplant cost. You may compare the prices and choose the most appropriate option for you.
On this page:
- What is bone marrow transplant?
- Where is it better to carry out transplant?
- Compare bone marrow transplant prices
- What the cost for blood cell infusion include?
- What influences the price of bone marrow transplant?
- Why is BMT so expensive?
- Bone marrow transplant cost with insurance
- Blood cell transplant — FAQs
This material has information purposes only and aims to tell about the most cost-effective skilled inpatient care. It isn't a call to action. The choice is yours.
All prices, saving rates, and other cost information given below have 3 independent sources:
- hospital representatives, who are responsible for price relevance and other info on the clinic
- the Bookimed medical team, which calculates saving rates according to data submitted by the rated medical facilities to make comparison and decision more comfortable
- official websites of authoritative organizations that provide cost peculiarities, facts, and figures.
Prices are approximate and may change according to the clinic's internal price policy and exchange rates. Note that the final cost is estimated by treating physician.
What is bone marrow transplant?
A bone marrow transplant (BMT, or stem cell transplant, hematopoietic cell transplantation) is a procedure to replace damaged bone marrow with healthy stem cells.
The transplant is performed to treat people of all ages suffering from hematological and autoimmune diseases, in particular, leukemia (blood cancer), lymphoma, anaemia, myeloma, and immune deficiency.
For some blood cancers, i.e. leukemia and lymphomas, BMT has increased survival rates from 0 to 85%!
There are 3 types of bone marrow transplants:
- autologous — a person receives cells taken from own blood; this type is used mainly in patients with leukemia and leukosis if they haven’t affected the bone marrow itself. The transplant is aimed at reviving the body's ability to produce health blood cells after chemo- or radiotherapy.
- allogeneic from a related donor — BMT with the use of bone marrow from a relative donor.
- allogeneic from an unrelated donor — a patient receives bone marrow from the matched donor through the Bank of Donors. A special blood test can accurately determine the compatibility of a donor and a recipient for transplantation.
Where is it better to carry out transplant?
According to WHO estimates, over 50,000 transplants are performed over the world yearly. 40% of unrelated BMTs were possible to provide because a recipient could find a donor in another country. Thus, more and more people are looking for options to have a transplant outside their countries and arrange medical travel as soon as possible.
Bookimed medical coordinators help people from different regions to find the best hospital and a highly-qualified hematologist for a bone marrow transplant.
For now, Bookimed has helped 51 patients to undergo a BMT procedure abroad successfully.
Our experts have identified 5 leading hospitals for providing a bone marrow transplant. They are the largest medical centers in Germany, Israel, India, Turkey, and Italy.
Bone marrow transplant price comparison
|
Procedure |
India |
Turkey |
Italy |
Israel |
Germany |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Autologous BMT |
starting $25,000 |
starting $27,000 |
starting €66,000 |
starting $100,000 |
starting €100,000 |
|
|
Cost of a bone marrow transplant in India
Gleneagles Global Hospital Chennai
Gleneagles Global Hospital in Chennai is well-known throughout Asia. Over 2 mln patients worldwide choose the hospital for the treatment. Transplantology is the strongest specialty in the hospital and India in general.
Gleneagles has an international JCI certificate and accreditation by the National Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers for high-quality medical services. In 2017, it was one of the most trusted medical institutions in India according to independent patients' voting.
The specialists of the Bone Marrow Transplant Center provide the procedure at the most affordable prices.
- About 85% is a success rate of bone marrow transplant at Global Chennai.
- Global Chennai is ranked among top 5 most popular hospitals in the world among medical tourists according to Market Research Future company.
- The hospital is certified by NABH (National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers) that confirms high quality of medical services provided at Global.
Global Hospital Chennai offers to perform bone marrow transplantation from $22000 to $119100. The hospital ranking is 4.3 according to 9 patient reviews. The medical center is located in Chennai, India. The travel arrangement takes 5 days. Feel free to request Bookimed to compare the prices and costs of bone marrow transplantation in India and make a shortlist of the most suitable clinics.
Bone marrow price at Gleneagles Global Hospital Chennai (India) |
|
|---|---|
|
Autologous BMT |
starting $25,000 |
|
Allogeneic BMT from a related donor |
starting $38,000 |
|
Allogeneic BMT from an unrelated donor |
starting $39,000 |
Stem cell transplant cost in Turkey
Medipol University Hospital
Medipol University Hospital is a private medical network of 4 hospitals located in Istanbul, Turkey. All hospitals have Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditation by the US-based healthcare organization. It ensures safety and quality of medical services.
Medipol Hospital has gained recognition thanks to the professionalism of the doctors, high success rate in bone marrow transplant (91.5%), convenient geographical location and affordable pricing policy.
The hospital is equipped with the latest technical facilities. Prof. Fatma Deniz Sargin, a specialist with 35 years of experience, carries bone marrow transplant at Medipol.
- The BMT is performed for children and adults at Medipol.
- 500,000 patients choose Medipol for treatment annually. A significant number of them prefer Medipol to have the best bone marrow transplant.
- Medipol is 1 out of 4 medical centers in Turkey equipped with Pyxis Medication Management System that controls the medicines taking. It provides a patient with a right drug and dose in an appropriate time. This system excludes any error in medicines taking.
Medipol Mega Hastaneler Kompleksi offers to perform bone marrow transplantation from $40000 to $130000. The hospital ranking is 4.5 according to 201 patient reviews. The medical center is located in Istanbul, Turkey. This hospital is typically chosen by patients from Ukraine and Uzbekistan. The travel arrangement takes 4 days. The medical center provides a patient with free airport-clinic transfer, free clinic-airport transfer and translator. Feel free to request Bookimed to compare the prices and costs of bone marrow transplantation in Turkey and make a shortlist of the most suitable clinics.
Bone marrow cost at Medipol University Hospital (Turkey) |
|
|---|---|
|
Autologous BMT |
starting $27,000 |
|
Allogeneic BMT from a related donor |
starting $70,000 |
|
Allogeneic BMT from an unrelated donor |
starting $110,000* |
*Due to an exclusive agreement between Medipol and Bookimed, we can arrange the lowest bone marrow transplant price in Turkey!
How much is a bone marrow transplant in Italy?
Ospedale San Raffaele
Ospedale San Raffaele is a part of Gruppo Ospedaliero San Donato, the first hospital group in Italy treating 3.9 mln patients per year.
The Hematology Oncology Department provides over 140 bone marrow transplants per year.
All bone marrow transplantations are conducted under the supervision of the Head of the Department Prof. Fabio Ciceri. Doctor Ciceri is a hematologist with 30 years of experience and one of the most authoritative experts in this field.
- Top Italian scientific research center.
- Dr. Fabio Ciceri heads the Hematology Department with over 30 years of experience in this field.
- Over 1,000 bone marrow transplants have been performed. Such a number of operations makes San Raffaele Ospedale one of the best bone marrow transplant centers in the world.
- The BMT procedure is conducted for children and adults.
San Raffaele Hospital offers to perform bone marrow transplantation from $176600. The hospital ranking is 4.5 according to 28 patient reviews. The medical center is located in Milan, Italy. The travel arrangement takes 5 days. The medical center provides a patient with paid airport-clinic transfer, paid clinic-airport transfer and translator. Feel free to request Bookimed to compare the prices and costs of bone marrow transplantation in Italy and make a shortlist of the most suitable clinics.
Bone marrow transplant price at Ospedale San Raffaele (Italy) |
|
|---|---|
|
Autologous BMT |
starting €65,000 |
|
Allogeneic BMT from a related donor |
starting €80,000 |
|
Allogeneic BMT from an unrelated donor |
starting €135,000 |
Cost of a bone marrow transplant in Israel
Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov)
Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov) is the largest private hospital in the country, one of the world’s leaders in bone marrow transplant. The hospital accepts around 400,000 patients per year. 200 out of them have undergone hematological treatment.
The Hematology Oncology Department is headed by Professor Ella Naparstek, a hematologist with 36 years of experience in blood cancer treatment, researcher and the author of over 160 scientific papers.
Sourasky medical team provides both autologous and allogeneic transplantations.
- Sourasky Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplantation unit is considered top national BMT center according to the hospital’s data.
- Autologous and allogeneic bone marrow transplants are performed for children and adults.
- Sourasky is in Top 10 list of the most popular hospitals for medical tourism in the world. The ranking is composed by Newsweek magazine, authoritative American edition.
Sourasky Medical Center offers to perform bone marrow transplantation from $90000 to $188000. The hospital ranking is 4.4 according to 114 patient reviews. The medical center is located in Tel Aviv, Israel. This hospital is typically chosen by patients from Croatia. The travel arrangement takes 2 days. The medical center provides a patient with free airport-clinic transfer, paid clinic-airport transfer and translator. Feel free to request Bookimed to compare the prices and costs of bone marrow transplantation in Israel and make a shortlist of the most suitable clinics.
Stem cell transplant cost at Sourasky Medical Center (Israel) |
|
|---|---|
|
Autologous BMT |
starting $100,000 |
|
Allogeneic BMT from a related donor |
starting $135,000 |
|
Allogeneic BMT from an unrelated donor |
starting $188,000 |
How much does a stem cell transplant cost in Germany?
Helios Berlin Buch Hospital
Helios Berlin Buch is a prominent medical center in Germany and far beyond its borders. The hospital is a part of the Helios Hospital Group, the largest in Germany. It consists of 112 medical centers and over 70 specialties: oncology, hematology, gynecology, cardiology, surgery, etc.
In 2018, it was ranked among top best in Germany according to Focus magazine. The criteria for the rankings included advanced technology, high recovery rates, and patients’ reviews.
Stem cell transplant is performed in the Hematology-Oncology Department under the supervision of Arne Brecht MD, who has carried out over 1,000 bone marrow transplant procedures.
Helios Berlin Buch has access to the German National Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ZKRD) making possible to provide the emergency allogeneic transplant.
- Helios Berlin Buch has access to the German National Bone Marrow Donor Registry to perform a bone marrow transplant in the shortest term.
- 240 bone marrow transplants annually.
- Helios Berlin Buch is included in the list of top German medical facilities according to the Focus magazine rating 2018. This also makes Helios as one of the best bone marrow centers in Germany.
- 200,000 patients choose Helios for treatment annually.
- Autologous and allogeneic bone marrow transplant types are carried out at Helios Berlin Buch.
Helios Berlin Buch offers to perform bone marrow transplantation from $198700 to $276000. The hospital ranking is 4.5 according to 54 patient reviews. The medical center is located in Berlin, Germany. This hospital is typically chosen by patients from Ukraine. The travel arrangement takes 5 days. The medical center provides a patient with paid airport-clinic transfer, paid clinic-airport transfer and translator. Feel free to request Bookimed to compare the prices and costs of bone marrow transplantation in Germany and make a shortlist of the most suitable clinics.
Bone marrow price at Helios Berlin Buch (Germany) |
|
|---|---|
|
Autologous BMT |
starting €100,000 |
|
Allogeneic BMT from a related donor |
starting €150,000 |
|
Allogeneic BMT from an unrelated donor |
starting €235,000 |
What the cost of blood cell infusion include?
The price is packaged, and it covers:
- Diagnostic tests (consultation with a hematology oncologist, bone marrow biopsy or its revision, histological chemistry, blood tests)
- Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing if allogeneic stem cell transplant
- Diagnostic before the procedure
- Bone marrow transfusion itself
- Rehabilitation after the process
- Transfer and language assistance if required (in Turkey and Israel).
Please note that this is a preliminary list of the services. It can differ between hospitals and countries. And the price mostly depends on the patient’s necessity in searching for a donor.
What else influences the bone marrow price?
The bone marrow transplant cost depends on:
- The type of required BMT
- Patient’s age
- The admission period in the chosen hospital
- Type of illness that requires a transplant
- The stage of disease
- Comorbidities and complications if any
- The pricing policy in the selected country and hospital.
Why is bone marrow transplant so expensive?
Type of required BMT
The cost of a bone marrow/stem cell transplant primary depends on the procedure type — autologous (with patient's marrow cells) or allogeneic (with cells, harvested from a donor) with the sequential steps.
In case, a patient requires a donor, a medical team starts a process to find a person with similar genetic markers in the blood for a transplant. It can be a family member or an unrelated donor.
Searching for a donor requires appealing to the donor banks, finding matches and the following testing. Thus, it is a time & money consuming procedure.
The cost of allogeneic transplant from an unrelated donor is twice as expensive as a transplant from a related donor.
It costs almost three times as much as an autologous BMT (in Turkey, for instance).
Patient’s age and hospital stay
Transplants are usually more expensive in patients younger than 20 years (considered as pediatric patients) due to more extended in-hospital stay.
For example, pediatric patients have 1.6 times higher average cost of bone marrow transplant and expenses for outpatient care compared with adult recipients. The median total duration of hospitalization was 43 days vs. 30 days according to the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (USA).
In general, the hospital stay takes up to 30 days. The preliminary period before the transplant takes 5-10 days. During the period, a patient takes drugs or receive chemotherapy, and/or radiotherapy to destroy unhealthy cells. This time is called a conditioning regimen.
After a transplant, a patient is vulnerable to infections because of the weak immune system. At the time, transplanted stem cells start to grow and develop, and the person’s immune system is recovering. A patient is put into a special ward with air filters to make sure no microbes or infections get into it.
In case of any post-transplant complications, the discharge is also postponed increasing the total cost of stem cell transplantation.
Bone marrow transplant cost with insurance
For patients, covered by health insurance, the out-of-pocket costs for a bone marrow transplant typically consist of doctor's fee, lab, and prescription drug copays as well as coinsurance of 10-50% for the procedure. Most health insurance plans cover the total cost completely or partly. It includes preliminary testing, the collection, and delivery of stem cells, the procedure, and post-operative recovery costs. The prices can vary depending on a region and hospital.
Personal expenses associated with bone marrow transplants, such as food and lodging expenses, incurred, when a patient and their family moves to be closer to a transplant center, are not covered by insurance.
Get a BMT cost estimate
Blood cell transplant — FAQs
- Is bone marrow transplant successful?
- 75 to 91.5% patients reach up 1-year survival rate after the procedure. The result depends on the patient’s age, and condition, the medical team’s professionalism, donor-recipient matching. The outcome is much better the closer donor’s profile is to the recipient’s needs.
- What is bone marrow transplant side effects?
- The risk of side effects from the infusion is minimal. Fever, low blood pressure, chest pain, cough are among short-term side effects after the procedure. During the rehab after stem cells transplants, a patient can face infections, organ dysfunction, infertility, depression, and some others.
- What if bone marrow transplant doesn't work?
- If autologous transplant doesn’t work, then allogeneic is provided. If allogeneic infusion fails, the patient’s condition returns to the original state. This case is called graft versus host disease (GvHD). In its case, a transplant team makes a new treatment plan.
- Who can give bone marrow transplant?
- Anyone can be a donor if a person is healthy and has a desire. A person can donate blood cells to a relative or a stranger. In this case, it’s necessary to contact the nearest donor register and find out the details. Each bank has its criteria and procedure for donating. Once you register, your blood samples are compared with those who are seeking treatment. If you match, you'll be asked for a donation. According to the Be The Match Foundation, a chance to become a donor is 1 in 430.
- Is bone marrow transplant safe for the donor?
- The procedure is safe but can go along with some side effects as a headache, pain in the back or hip, fatigue. Still one should remember that no medical procedure is risk-free.
- How does bone marrow transplant work for the donor?
- There are 2 ways of donating: marrow stem cells or peripheral blood cells (PBSCs). The patient’s treating doctor chooses the way.
If PBSCs donation: 91% of donors have 1 session. A person is connected to a blood cell separator device via tubes in both arms. The device collects cells from your arm, picks some platelets and white blood cells into a special bag. Afterward, it returns plasma and red blood cells to your body via the other arm.
If marrow donation: it’s a surgical procedure under general anesthesia. A doctor collects marrow from both sides of the donor’s pelvic bone via small incisions. Most donors return home the same day or the next day after the donation.
- Bone marrow transplant for the donor — is it painful?
- The donation includes blood tests and injections. Some experience uncomfortable during them. After marrow donation, a person can feel pain. It can last a few days or reach up to several weeks. Pain is a very individual indicator.
- Can bone marrow transplant change blood type?
- Yes, after the allogeneic transplant a recipient’s blood type is changed into the donor’s. Healthy blood cells with their own set of antibodies and antigens replace the damaged cells with their sets. The complete replacement takes 4-6 weeks.
- Can bone marrow transplant change DNA?
- Yes, it can. A person has the allogeneic transplant from an unrelated donor. As the result, donor’s genome gets to the recipient’s and a person has 2 sets of DNA, not one as usual. This phenomenon is called chimerism.
Summary
A bone marrow transplant is the main hope for people with blood cancers and some disorders affected bone marrow. The procedure is associated with physical difficulties, prolonged hospitalization and is quite a pricey one. The hospital should be chosen according to the experience of a transplant team and its heading doctor, hospital’s equipment and services provided. The BMT cost depends on the range of factors, including bone marrow transplant type, the patient’s condition and pricing policy in the country.
The most affordable option can be find in Indian and Turkish hospitals — the prices are explained by the economic growth level in these countries. The most affordable option in Europe is considered Italian hospital while Germany offers the highest prices.
In case you would like to have an appointment in the hospital or need assistance in selecting the right one, submit a request and we will do our best to take care of your medical travel.
06/03/2019 My son is 19 years old, a bone marrow transplant was performed. We are very grateful to Professor Denise for her team of doctors, resuscitation doctors, and nursing staff for their professionalism and kindness. Special thanks to the coordinator of the international department Svetlana, translators Aida, Zholdyz, Davud and others, the guys coordinating the transfer of Sino, Nurali and others, as well as the drivers. Thank you all for your kindness and sensitivity. We do not regret that we chose the "Medipol mega Hastenesi" clinic. Thanks to Bookimed, for the help in choosing the clinic. And personally to Konstantin Seminenko.