By Argyll Geducos
Cancer patients, particularly children, are expected to gain improved access to life-saving treatment following the opening of the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH).
The new facility is expected to strengthen the country’s capacity to provide specialized bone marrow transplant services, offering more patients the opportunity to receive treatment locally.
First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, who attended the inauguration of the facility in Manila on July 10, described the new unit as a source of renewed hope for cancer patients and their families.
In a Facebook post, the First Lady said the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit would give more children the chance to recover.
“For cancer patients, it offers renewed hope and the chance for more children to grow up healthy and simply enjoy being kids again,” she said.
The four-bed facility, located at the Right Central Block of PGH, was established through a partnership between the hospital and the I Want To Share (IWTS) Foundation, with three beds dedicated to charity patients.
It is expected to strengthen the country’s capacity to provide bone marrow transplantation, one of the most effective but costly treatments for blood cancers and other life-threatening blood disorders.
Araneta-Marcos congratulated the I Want To Share Foundation, healthcare workers, private partners, donors, and volunteers whose support helped make the project possible.
She said their compassion and shared vision would benefit countless patients and families in the years to come.
The First Lady also thanked the medical professionals who will operate the new unit and continue providing specialized care to patients undergoing treatment.
Bone marrow transplantation is a specialized procedure used to treat various blood cancers and other life-threatening blood disorders by replacing damaged or diseased bone marrow with healthy stem cells.
The inauguration was attended by officials of PGH and the University of the Philippines Manila, healthcare professionals, donor partners, pediatric cancer patients, and their families.
