Christa Blanco from Ohio was 45 when she travelled to New Delhi for HSCT. She had lived with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis for fifteen years, and three years earlier it had forced her to stop working. In this video she explains why she could not have the treatment in the United States. Her mother Kay then describes the care Christa received during thirty days at HSCT Hospital India.
Relapsing remitting MS, shortened to RRMS, is the most common form of the disease. This form brings relapses, when symptoms flare up, and then periods when they ease, partly or fully. It is treated in some patients with HSCT, short for autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The treatment collects a patient’s own stem cells, uses chemotherapy to remove the immune cells behind the relapses, and then returns the stored cells. Christa had this treatment at HSCT Hospital India in the summer she recorded this video.
| Christa from the USA: HSCT for RRMS at a Glance |
| Patient | Christa Blanco, aged 45, comes from the state of Ohio. |
| Condition | She was diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS fifteen years before treatment. |
| Effect on work | MS had kept her out of work for about three years. |
| Route in the USA | HSCT for MS is not FDA approved, and an earlier melanoma excluded her from the trials she applied to. |
| Timeline | She decided in January, applied in April and arrived in India on 30 June. |
| Attendant | Her mother Kay stayed with her in New Delhi. |
| Package price today | HSCT Hospital India charges one all inclusive fee of 30,000 US dollars for up to thirty days in hospital. |
Why Christa looked outside the United States for HSCT
Christa started by looking at hospitals in her own country. HSCT for MS is not approved by the FDA, the US Food and Drug Administration. Because of that, in the United States it is offered mainly inside clinical trials. Those trials have strict entry rules. Christa had been treated for malignant melanoma, a skin cancer, in the past, and that history ruled her out.
She then compared clinics in other countries. They had websites that gave her useful detail, though she found some of them misleading. After that, in February, she visited one of those facilities and did not feel fully comfortable there. A friend then suggested India, and she began researching hospitals in New Delhi. The options open to American patients, including insurance and trial routes, are set out on the HSCT for MS in the USA page.
At HSCT Hospital India, the full medical history of every applicant, including any past illness, is reviewed as part of that person’s own case. HSCT specialist doctors read the medical history and recent scans first, and a full evaluation in New Delhi confirms suitability before treatment starts. The general rules are listed on the HSCT eligibility criteria page.
Christa spent months comparing clinics before she chose. That comparison is easier with the HSCT India brochure, which arrives by email. It lays out the four treatment stages, the stay in New Delhi and everything the price includes. That gives you the same facts to compare.
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Questions answered before and during treatment
Christa arrived with a good deal of reading behind her and some questions still open. She says the doctor treating her answered each of those questions fully.
"There were things that I had researched that I still had a little bit of questions about or didn’t fully understand, which he explained completely, down to a level that I could explain it to my grandkids."
Christa Blanco, recorded at HSCT Hospital India
Treatment at HSCT Hospital India runs in four stages. It starts with mobilisation, which moves stem cells from the bone marrow into the blood. Once they are in the blood, the harvest, also called leukapheresis, collects and freezes them. Conditioning is the chemotherapy that removes the faulty immune cells, using the non-myeloablative regimen, meaning a dose that suppresses the bone marrow without destroying it. Reinfusion returns the stored cells, and the new immune system develops from them. Each stage is explained in the HSCT for multiple sclerosis guide.
Patients in the United States who were turned down for a trial can still ask about their own case. HSCT specialist doctors at HSCT Hospital India review your history and MRI scans. An HSCT case manager then sends their opinion free of charge, with no commitment.
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Fevers after chemotherapy and the nursing response
Christa had fevers during her treatment. Such a fever is common in the days after conditioning, when the immune system is at its lowest. It is watched closely because it can signal an infection. She says the nurses acted on it straight away.
"I had issues with fevers, and sometimes that could be an issue, but they were right on top of it. Knew what to do, how to do it, how to take care of me. Really no worries."
Christa Blanco, recorded at HSCT Hospital India
That quick response depends on round the clock monitoring. Every patient stays in a deluxe private room with triple level HEPA air filtration. This filtration keeps dust and germs out of the air during the weeks of low immunity. Nurses, called sisters and brothers on the ward, monitor each patient throughout the stay. The common effects of treatment, and how each is managed, are described on the HSCT side effects page.
A past illness or a worry about side effects is easier to talk through by phone. An HSCT case manager will ring you at a time that suits you, at no charge.
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Christa’s mother Kay as her attendant
Christa’s mother Kay travelled with her as her attendant. She admits she was worried when they first arrived. That view changed once she saw how the staff looked after her daughter.
"When we first got here I was worried, but after watching them work with Christa and take care of her, I knew there wasn’t going to be any need to worry."
Kay, Christa’s mother and attendant
The attendant lives in the same private room for the whole stay. Kay’s meals and laundry, Christa’s tests, medicines and neuro physiotherapy, and the airport transfers in New Delhi all sit inside the single price. The costs American patients usually compare against are broken down on the HSCT cost by country page.
Thirty days in New Delhi, in Christa’s words
Christa closes by describing what the month meant to her. She talks about the doctors and staff as family, and she compares the hospital with the facilities she had looked at before.
"In a 30-day period this hospital has become a part of my life. The doctors and the staff have become a part of my family, and they’re really my heroes. I could not have asked for a better facility, a cleaner facility, a more professional, thorough facility."
Christa Blanco, recorded at HSCT Hospital India
American patients reach HSCT Hospital India through the same online application Christa used. More than 1,500 people with MS have been treated at the hospital, from over 30 countries. The hospital’s facilities carry JCI-USA accreditation from the Joint Commission International. They also hold NABH and NABL, India’s national standards for hospitals and laboratories, and there is no long waiting list. Three other patients from the United States, Kathryn, Justin and David Ellis, tell their own stories.
Transcript of the video
Christa: Hi, my name is Christa Blanco. I’m 45 years old. I’m from the United States of America, the state of Ohio. I was diagnosed with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis 15 years ago, and about 3 years ago it took me out of work, and since then it’s just kind of gone downhill and pretty much felt like it had taken my life.
Christa: I started doing a lot of research and of course came across HSCT. I looked at several different facilities, of course within the United States at first. It’s not FDA approved, so I didn’t qualify just to go have it done, and when I applied for the trials, I had previously had malignant melanoma, so I didn’t qualify for that reason. So I started looking into other countries, other facilities that offered it, and actually made my mind up in January of this year that I was going to do this. I was going to get my life back.
Christa: I had visited several websites, which I felt gave a lot of good information but were very misleading in other areas. In February I had visited another facility and just didn’t feel 100% comfortable with having the procedure there, and a friend of mine had suggested India and that they had facilities here that offered HSCT. So of course I immediately started researching and looking into that. In April of this year I applied, and on June 30th we arrived in India to start my HSCT transplant.
Christa: Upon arrival, everything has been great. [The] doctor has been absolutely amazing. I couldn’t have asked for a better doctor. There were things that I had researched that I still had a little bit of questions about or didn’t fully understand, which he explained completely, down to a level that I could explain it to my grandkids at that point.
Kay: Hello, my name is Kay and I’m Christa Blanco’s mother. Just a few things about this hospital and the staff here. They are amazing. When we first got here I was worried, but after watching them work with Christa and take care of her, I knew there wasn’t going to be any need to worry. I can’t say enough about them. I would recommend anybody to come here for this stem cell transplant for MS.
Christa: The staff here, the nurses… I had issues with fevers, and sometimes that could be an issue, but they were right on top of it. Knew what to do, how to do it, how to take care of me. Really no worries. They call them sisters, the nurses, sisters and brothers or head nurses. And in a 30-day period this hospital has become a part of my life. The doctors and the staff have become a part of my family, and they’re really my heroes. I could not have asked for a better facility, a cleaner facility, a more professional, thorough facility than here at [hospital name unclear].
People with relapsing remitting MS anywhere in the United States can have their case looked at before making any plans. HSCT specialist doctors at HSCT Hospital India give the opinion, and an HSCT case manager replies to you personally, free of charge.
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Read next
HSCT for MS patients in the USAPaying for HSCT abroadKathryn from the USAJustin from the USASide effects of HSCT and how they are managedWho is eligible for HSCTEvery patient story from HSCT Hospital India
