Proposed bone bank to come up soon at Cuttack SCB medical

The SCB Medical College and Hospital, the state-run premier government hospital in Cuttack, is all set to have a dedicated bone bank. The bone bank is likely to come to the rescue of scores of patients suffering from bone cancer, serious trauma with acute bone damage, and failed replacement surgeries, sources said.

The proposed bone bank will be set up in the Orthopaedic department. Already the proposal has received the Odisha government’s nod and tenders have been invited to procure necessary equipment, said SCB Superintendent, Dr Sudhansu Sekhar Mishra.

Tenders have been invited for deep freezer, lylophilisation apparatus and other equipment for sterilising and disinfecting harvested bones. The SCB officials had initially submitted a proposal for a bone bank to the Odisha government in 2021. A DMET team had visited the medical and gave its consent provided requirements are fulfilled.

“Two rooms have been made ready. Basically, a deep freezer, thawing machine, sterilising, and other machines are needed for the bone bank. Usually, bones are procured from live donors or cadavers,” said a doctor.

Usually, most of the discarded bones of patients undergoing replacement will be collected, preserved, and used in patients needing them.

The bones would be harvested from amputated parts of patients as well. Already a bone bank facility is available at Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital in Mumbai and AIIMS, New Delhi. The proposed bone bank at SCB will be the first of its kind in Odisha.