Hematologist
CION Cancer Clinics
Choosing a bone marrow transplant centre: what to check | CION Cancer Clinics
Choose a transplant centre by what it does often, not by its size. Check that it regularly performs your type of transplant for your disease, can search for a donor, has a haematologist and intensive care available at night, and runs a follow-up clinic. Distance matters too, because after a donor transplant you may need to stay close for months. This guide gives you the questions to ask. At CION Cancer Clinics, our haematology team supports patients and families through treatment, cost questions and life at home.
BP
Medically reviewed by Dr. Basudev PokhrelConsultant Haematologist · last reviewed September 2026, next review due September 2027
17+specialists on panel
15,000+patients treated
35+centres across Telangana & AP
4.8★ / 800+Google rating
On this page
- What should you look for first in a transplant centre?
- Which questions separate one transplant centre from another?
- What does the road to a transplant usually look like?
- What do the transplant terms mean in plain language?
- What do families often get wrong when choosing a centre?
- Does the transplant type change what you should check?
- What can this page not tell you, and where does CION fit?
- Common questions about choosing a transplant centre
The short answer
What should you look for first in a transplant centre?
Look first at whether the centre regularly does the kind of transplant your haematologist is recommending, for your disease. Then look at what happens around the transplant: the ward, the donor search, the night-time cover and the follow-up clinic you will attend for months afterwards.
Why the type of transplant changes the question
A transplant using your own stem cells is called autologous. A transplant using cells from a donor is called allogeneic. Many centres that do the first well do far fewer of the second. A donor transplant needs a donor search, tissue matching, and a team that knows how to manage the donor cells attacking your body. Ask which type they do most often, not only whether they do it.
Why the building matters less than the team
A new ward looks reassuring. What protects you in the weeks when your counts are at their lowest is a trained nursing team, a haematologist who can be reached at night, an intensive care unit next door and a blood bank that can supply safe products quickly. Those are harder to see on a visit, so you have to ask about them directly.
No single centre suits every patient. The right one for you depends on your disease, your donor, your distance from home and who will stay with you.Comparing centres
Which questions separate one transplant centre from another?
Take these to every centre you are considering. A good team will answer them plainly and will not be offended that you asked.
Experience with your disease
Ask how often they transplant people with your diagnosis, using the same type of transplant. Leukaemia, myeloma, lymphoma and aplastic conditions each bring different problems.
The donor search
Ask how they test brothers, sisters and parents for a match, and whether they can search unrelated donor registries if no family member matches.
Also ask
- Do they do half-matched family transplants?
- Who pays for the donor tests?
The ward and infection control
Ask whether rooms are single, with filtered air, and what the rules are for visitors, food and the family member who stays.
Cover through the night
Ask who sees you at two in the morning if you develop a fever, and how quickly an intensive care bed is available inside the hospital.
Life after discharge
Ask whether there is a dedicated follow-up clinic, how often you will be seen, and who you call when a rash or loose motions start at home.
Their own results
Ask whether they track and share their outcomes and complications. A centre that keeps careful records is usually a centre that learns from them.
Not sure whether this applies to you?
Ask an oncologistThe pathway
What does the road to a transplant usually look like?
-
Referral and first review
The transplant team reads your reports, bone marrow results and treatment so far. They decide whether a transplant is likely to help you now, later, or not at all.
-
Fitness tests
Heart, lung, kidney and liver tests, a dental check and infection screening. These tell the team whether your body can manage the treatment before the transplant.
-
Finding a donor, if you need one
Family members give a blood or cheek sample for tissue matching. If nobody matches, the team discusses a registry donor or a half-matched family donor.
-
Conditioning
High-dose chemotherapy, sometimes with radiation, clears space in the marrow. This is the hardest stretch, and you will be in the ward.
-
Waiting for the new cells to grow
The cells are given through a drip, like a blood transfusion. Then comes the wait for your counts to recover, when infection risk is at its highest.
-
Going home, but staying close
After a donor transplant, most people are asked to live near the centre for some months and return often. Plan where your family will stay before you are admitted.
Words you will hear
What do the transplant terms mean in plain language?
- Autologous transplant
- Your own stem cells are collected, stored and given back after high-dose treatment. Often used in myeloma and some lymphomas.
- Allogeneic transplant
- Stem cells come from a donor. Used in many leukaemias and marrow failure conditions.
- HLA match
- How closely a donor's tissue type matches yours. A closer match usually means fewer problems with the donor cells.
- Haploidentical
- A half-matched donor, usually a parent, child, brother or sister.
- Engraftment
- The point when the new stem cells settle in the marrow and your counts start to rise.
- GVHD
- Graft-versus-host disease. The donor's immune cells attack your skin, gut or liver. It needs specialist follow-up.
Leave a number, we will call you
One field. No form to fill in, and no charge for the call.
Commonly believed
What do families often get wrong when choosing a centre?
"The biggest hospital must be the right one."
Size tells you little about the transplant unit inside it. A smaller unit that does your type of transplant every week may know your situation better than a large hospital that does it now and then. Ask about the unit, not the building.
"We should go wherever the package price is lowest."
A package usually covers a fixed stay. Complications, extra weeks in the ward, blood products and medicines after discharge are often billed separately. Ask what is outside the package before you compare two figures.
"If no brother or sister matches, transplant is off the table."
A registry donor or a half-matched parent or child may be possible. Whether it suits you is a question for the transplant team, and it is worth asking before you give up on the idea.
"Once we are discharged, we can go straight home."
After a donor transplant, the months after discharge still need close watching. Living many hours away can make those visits very hard. Distance is a real part of the choice.
Side by side
Does the transplant type change what you should check?
Own cells (autologous)
Donor cells (allogeneic)
No donor search needed
Check family testing and registry access
Check stem cell collection and storage
Check how donor cells are collected and brought in
Shorter watch for infection after discharge
Longer follow-up, with a clinic for GVHD
Many cancer hospitals offer it
Fewer centres do it often; ask how often
Being straight with you
What can this page not tell you, and where does CION fit?
This page cannot tell you whether a transplant is right for you, or which centre to pick. That depends on your diagnosis, how the disease has responded, your age and fitness, and whether a donor is available. It also cannot tell you how a transplant will go for you. Only your haematologist can talk through your own picture.
What CION does and does not do
CION does not perform bone marrow or stem cell transplants. Our haematology team, led by Dr. Basudev Pokhrel, reviews your reports, takes your case to a tumour board, and helps you understand whether a transplant is being considered and why. We then help coordinate referral to qualified transplant centres and prepare the questions you should ask them.
Paying for a transplant
Costs vary widely with the transplant type, donor, length of stay and complications. Aarogyasri, PM-JAY, CGHS, ECHS, EHS and cashless insurance may cover part of the treatment at empanelled centres. Scheme rules change, so check the current cover with the centre and the scheme before admission. There is no EMI offer from CION.
Ask each centre for a written estimate that lists what is not included.Questions we are asked
Common questions about choosing a transplant centre
Should we choose a centre in Hyderabad or travel to another city?
Staying closer to home makes the long follow-up easier, and family support matters a great deal. Travel may make sense if a centre elsewhere does far more of your specific transplant type. Weigh the team's experience against the cost and strain of living away from home for months.
Can we visit the transplant ward before deciding?
You can usually meet the team and see where you would stay, although the ward itself may be closed to visitors to protect patients. Use the meeting to ask about night cover, the family attendant's rules and the follow-up clinic. How openly they answer tells you a lot.
Who in the family should be tested as a donor?
Brothers and sisters are usually tested first, because they are the most likely full match. Parents and children may be tested as half-matched donors. The transplant team decides who to test and in what order, so ask them before arranging any tests yourselves.
Is a higher package price a sign of better care?
Not on its own. Packages include different things, so two prices are rarely comparable. Ask each centre what the figure covers, what happens to the bill if you stay longer, and whether medicines and blood products after discharge are included. Compare the full likely cost, not the headline.
What if the centre says a transplant is not right for me?
Ask them to explain why, in plain words. It may be that other treatment should come first, or that the risks outweigh the likely benefit for you now. A second opinion is reasonable. It is also possible that both teams reach the same answer, and that is useful to know.
How long will a family member need to stay with me?
Most centres ask for one adult attendant through the admission and the early months after a donor transplant. The exact time depends on the transplant type and how recovery goes. Ask the centre early so the family can plan work, children and a place to stay.
Does the centre need special accreditation?
Hospital accreditation such as NABH shows the hospital meets general quality standards. Some transplant units also follow international transplant standards. Ask which standards the unit itself follows and who checks them. Accreditation helps, but it does not replace asking about experience with your disease.
Can CION send my reports to a transplant centre?
Yes. Our haematology team can review your reports, summarise your case and help coordinate a referral to a qualified transplant centre. Bring your bone marrow reports, scan results, treatment summaries and any tissue typing results you already have, so nothing needs to be repeated without reason.
Your Haematologist
Meet CION's haematologist. One specialist for your blood report and your plan.
Dr. Basudev Pokhrel reviews blood counts, transfusion needs and blood disorders, and works with the CION tumour board on blood cancers.
Want a specific doctor for your case? Mention them when booking.
Book Free ConsultationBook an appointment with our specialist
Share your name and number — we'll call you back within 30 minutes to schedule your consultation.
Patient stories
Hear it from people we have treated
Every story is a video, in the patient's own words. Nothing here is a written testimonial.
Accreditation and empanelment
- NABH
- NABL
- ISO 9001:2015
- ArogyaSri empanelled
- CGHS accepted
- ECHS accepted
- EHS accepted
- Major cashless insurers
Paying for it
Insurance, schemes and payment
What you actually pay usually differs a great deal from the sticker figure.
AarogyasriEmpanelled. Bring the card and a referral where you have one.
CGHS / ECHS / EHSAccepted at CION centres for eligible treatment.
Cashless insuranceMost major insurers are empanelled. Pre-authorisation is handled by our desk.
Self-payItemised estimate given before treatment starts. No EMI scheme exists.
Where to find us
Our centres in and around Hyderabad
Addressed by landmark, because that is how this city navigates. A haematology consultation can be booked at any of these centres through one helpline, and your team will tell you where each test or treatment takes place.
Warangal
Vizag
Sources
- NHS — Stem cell and bone marrow transplants
- National Cancer Institute — Stem Cell Transplants in Cancer Treatment
- Cancer Research UK — Stem cell and bone marrow transplants
- Leukemia & Lymphoma Society — Stem cell transplantation
This page is general information, not a prescription. Do not change or stop any treatment based on what you read here. If anything is worrying you, contact your own treating team — or call our helpline and we will help you reach the right specialist.
Keep reading
Related pages
Choosing a Haematology Centre: What to AskThe wider set of questions for any blood cancer centreCAR-T Centre Selection in IndiaIf CAR-T is being discussed alongside a transplantDocuments to Carry Between Haematology CentresWhat to take to each transplant consultationSecond Opinions and Choosing a Haematology CentreEvery guide on second opinions and choosing care
Talk to us
Weighing up transplant centres?
Share your reports with CION's haematology team. We will review your case, explain whether a transplant is being considered and why, and help coordinate referral to a qualified centre.