What is Stem Cell Therapy Cost in India?

Stem cell therapy in India is the latest entrant in the field of the healthcare industry. This new-fangled therapy offers a cure to several diseases and encourages patients to start a new life. Due to stem cell therapy costs, many people are reluctant in opting for this treatment method. But stem cell treatment in India is quite affordable as compared to other countries. The cost of stem cell therapy treatment in India depends on multifarious factors including the type of disease, healthcare condition, type of hospital and place. From hair loss to blood cancer, many lethal diseases can be treated with stem cell therapy.

What is Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation?

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) or bone marrow transplantation is a healthcare treatment done by experts. Under this treatment, a person’s diseased bone marrow is replaced with the healthy blood cells of a donor.

Stem cells can be changed into various types of cells and can easily replace the hematopoietic stem cells of your body. These cells could be RBCs, WBCs, and platelets that are imperative for the normal functioning of the body.

When is a stem cell transplant needed?

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is recommended when your bone marrow can’t produce wholesome blood cells. There could be several reasons for this like:

• Bone marrow failure (aplastic anemia)
• Lymphoma
• Leukemia
• The immune system, blood or metabolic disorders including thalassemia, sickle cell anemia etc.

Based on your requirement, the doctor suggests the best method to reinstate normal cell generation in the bone marrow.

How much does a stem cell transplant cost in India?

The cost of stem cell therapy in India is between Rs. 5.50 lakhs to Rs. 25 lakhs. The cost depends on what type of transplant (whether it is an allogenic transplant or an autologous transplant) you have chosen.

The success rate of stem cell transplant surgery is very high. Thus, it is getting popular in various metro and non-metro cities. The costs of the treatment depend on multifarious factors.

Stem Cell Therapy and their Treatment Costs in India

Factors Influencing Bone Marrow Transplant in India

The bone marrow transplant surgery cost depends on a chunk of factors including the healthcare condition of the patient, kind of treatment procedure, the type of hospital, and location. Some imperative factors play an imperative role in bone marrow transplants.

• Pre-Surgery Costs: Your physical examinations and other basic tests are recommended by doctors before surgery. The range of costs could be between Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 10,000
• Specific Tests: For a bone marrow transplant you will need to undergo various tests like CT scan, Color Doppler, Ultrasound etc. For these you need some additional amount of Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 15,000
• Cost of Transplant: The number of surgery sessions may depend on the type of surgery. The costs could be between Rs. 5 lakhs to Rs. 20 lakhs.
• Miscellaneous Expenses: Other expenditures like follow-up session costs, immunosuppressant injection costs and other similar post-surgery costs must be included. These costs could be nearly Rs. 50,000.

Affordability of Bone Marrow Transplants in India

The bone marrow transplant cost in India is in lakhs. Many Indian families can’t afford this due to their restricted incomes. Though the treatment cost is cheaper than in many other countries, still it is not affordable to many.

Several medical studies have claimed that nearly 70% of people diagnosed with leukemia in India can’t go for HSCT treatment due to their poor financial conditions. This is quite worrying for many Indian families who are dealing with life-threatening diseases. Under this scenario, it is imperative for you to have a financial backup such as health insurance policies. A comprehensive health insurance policy offers such emergency healthcare expenses and also lessens your financial burden.

Does a health insurance policy in India offer coverage for stem cell transplants?

Many health insurance companies in India embrace their customers with coverage for bone marrow transplants under their critical illness plans. But you must be astonished to know that most health insurance plans don’t provide coverage for stem-cell transplants other than bone marrow transplant surgery. This implies certain treatments will not be covered by the health insurance policies. Many critical illness health insurance plans only cover bone marrow transplants using hematopoietic stem cells. If you want to avail the benefits of the transplant treatment, then you have been diagnosed by a deft medical consultant.

Things To Remember for Stem Cell Transplant

Certain things you should consider before initiating the claim for the transplantation costs from your insurance company are:

• In a stem cell transplant treatment two people (donor and recipient) are required. The expenses of the donor are also covered by an insurance policy but with many restrictions.
• For donors, only in-patient hospitalization costs will be covered by the policy.
• These critical illness policies come up with a waiting period of 90 days along with a survival period of 30 days.

These are imperative things that you should consider before making any purchase commitment.

Conclusion

Critical illness will not only drain your savings but also will give excruciating pain to you and your family. Everyone should take adequate precautions to safeguard themselves from these illnesses. Thus, one should consider buying a health insurance policy in such cases. In this way, they will be equipped financially to deal with the diseases.