Two Cobalt-60 patients to be discharged from hospital

Two patients, who were admitted to the Army Research and Referral Hospital last month after being exposed to radiation from radioactive object in scrap, are likely to be discharged soon.

Two patients, who were admitted to the Army Research and Referral Hospital last month after being exposed to radiation from radioactive object in scrap, are likely to be discharged soon.

The hospital said the two patients -- Deepak Jain (32) and Ajay Jain (40) -- were showing good recovery and their
condition was near normal.

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The two had been admitted to the hospital with low blood counts due to bone marrow suppression following the accidental radiation exposure to Cobalt-60 at their scrap shop in Mayapuri area of the city.

"Their condition is clinically stable and free of any infection or bleeding," Army R&R Hospital Commandant Lieutenant General Naresh Kumar said in a press release on Friday.

"Ajay Jain's wound is healing well," he added.

After being released from the hospital in a day or two, the doctors would continue to closely monitor the condition of
the two patients.

"Volunteer donors having 100 per cent matching Human Lymphocyte Antigen (HLA) have been kept on standby for bone marrow transplant if their condition worsens," he said.

The two, who were initially treated at other hospitals in the city, were transferred to the Army hospital and were found
to have leucopenia (low white cells, thrombocytopenia(low platelet counts) with bone marrow showing below normal
cellularity (hypocellular).

Kumar had discussed the possibility of BMT with the doctors treating the two patients and it was felt that it should be carried out only if blood counts showed a falling trend with bone marrow failure.

Ajay Jain had sustained burns on his right posterior and thigh. Deepak Jain, who was first admitted to Apollo Hospital,
had a sibling donor in his sister, who had a 100 per cent Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) match and could be a prospective donor.