Only 3 in 10 Indian Children Find a Matched Bone Marrow Donor. Narayana Health City Is Rewriting the Odds: With Asia’s Highest Volume of Half-Match paediatric Transplants
Bengaluru, September 3rd, 2026: In a bid to close India’s persistent donor-matching gap for children needing a bone marrow transplant, Narayana Health City has crossed 1,000 paediatric haploidentical (half match) bone marrow transplants, the only hospital in India to reach this milestone, within a broader base of over 2,500+ bone marrow transplants to date, and now holds Asia’s highest volume of paediatric haploidentical transplants. Alongside this, the centre also completed 228 paediatric bone marrow transplants (BMTs) in a single year, placing it among a select group of high-volume centres globally and making it the only hospital in India to reach this scale within a single financial year, led by Dr. Sunil Bhat and his team. Performing 228 paediatric BMTs in a single year reflects not just volume, but the ability to manage complex cases across a wide range of blood disorders, including thalassemia, leukaemia and aplastic anaemia, many of which come with the added challenge of finding a matching donor.
This gap is significant. Only around 25 to 30% of patients are likely to have a fully matched sibling donor (Matched Sibling Donor, or MSD), and another 10 to 15% may potentially find a suitable Matched Unrelated Donor (MUD) through donor registries, depending on their HLA profile and the availability of an appropriate donor. For the remaining majority, a haploidentical, or half match, transplant is often the only option, a procedure that carries significantly higher clinical risk, demands far more complex post-transplant management, and is performed hands on by only a handful of specialists across the country. The scale of this need in India is considerable: roughly 3 to 4% of the population carries the thalassemia trait, and an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 children are born with thalassemia major every year, alongside thousands more diagnosed annually with aplastic anaemia and paediatric blood cancers, many of whom will eventually need a transplant to survive.
This experience reflects a procedure that remains technically complex, requiring specialised protocols, experienced clinicians, advanced laboratory support, and close monitoring before, during and after transplantation. It is led by Dr. Sunil Bhat, Vice Chairman Oncology Collegium, Director & Clinical Lead, Paediatric Hematology, Oncology and Paediatric Bone Marrow Transplant, Narayana Health City, one of the very small group of doctors in India who pioneered the procedure for children.
Dr. Devi Shetty, Founder and Chairman, Narayana Health, said, “A child should never lose the fight against a disease simply because their body did not match a donor’s. That is not a medical problem alone; it is a problem of will and systems. Over the years, we have worked to build a programme where the absence of a perfect match does not mean the absence of hope. Every child who walks out of this hospital healthy, especially those who came to us with no other option left, is a reminder of why we do this work.”
Dr. Sunil Bhat, Vice Chairman Oncology Collegium, Director & Clinical Lead, Paediatric Hematology, Oncology and Paediatric Bone Marrow Transplant, Narayana Health City, added: “228 paediatric transplants in a single financial year is a landmark achievement for our entire team. However, the significance goes beyond the number. Every transplant represents a child who needed a chance at life and a family that trusted us with that responsibility. Over the years, haploidentical transplantation has changed the way we approach patients who do not have a fully matched donor. A parent is always a half match for their child, and siblings can also provide a half-matched donor option. Our experience of performing 1,000+ paediatric haploidentical transplants has helped us develop deep expertise in this complex area. Our aim is to ensure that the absence of a full match does not automatically become the absence of hope for a child.”
Three such cases from Narayana Health City illustrate this experience.
Shirin (name changed), a young girl from Jammu and Kashmir, became the 2,500th patient to undergo a bone marrow transplant at Narayana Health City. She underwent a haploidentical bone marrow transplant using a half-matched family donor, a pathway made possible for patients without a fully matched donor, using a half-matched parent or sibling instead. Her transplant marks not only a milestone in the centre’s cumulative volume, but also reflects how advances in haploidentical BMT continue to expand treatment possibilities for patients who may otherwise have had limited donor options.
Vipin (name changed), an 11-year-old with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, relapsed in both the bone marrow and testes after completing initial treatment. Following further intensive therapy, he underwent a haploidentical stem cell transplant with his father as the donor. His recovery involved several complications, including infections and skin graft-versus-host disease, all of which were carefully managed. He achieved successful engraftment and, more than a year on, continues to recover well under close follow-up.
Ashutosh (name changed), a 15-year-old from Chhattisgarh, was diagnosed with severe aplastic anaemia, a serious and potentially life-threatening blood disorder. After becoming dependent on regular transfusions, he was referred for a stem cell transplant. With no fully matched donor available, his father became his donor for a haploidentical stem cell transplant. Despite the challenges along the way, A.E. successfully underwent the transplant, achieved engraftment, and is now doing well under regular follow-up.
Mayank (name changed), at just 7 years old from Tumkuru, Mayank spent years fighting CALLA-positive B-cell ALL (diagnosed in January 2023). In November 2025, he faced an unexpected lineage switch, developing Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). On 4 March 2026, he underwent a TCR alpha-beta depleted haploidentical stem cell transplant. His father courageously stepped forward as his 6/12 HLA-matched donor. Despite severe post-transplant challenges, including febrile neutropenia, mucositis, and AKI, his graft engrafted successfully, with neutrophil recovery on Day +11 and platelet recovery on Day +12.
Built over more than a decade, Narayana Health City’s paediatric BMT programme now holds India’s highest volume of full match paediatric transplants as well, reflecting a full spectrum capability that treats children regardless of whether a matched donor exists. The achievement is supported by internal transplant data, contributions to the ISBMT Registry, and documentation through BMT+ software systems.
