Transplanting Hope, One Bone Marrow At A Time
With the Philippines’ first charity Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, life-saving cancer treatment becomes more accessible to Filipino children.
Words Marc Nathaniel Servo
Photo Courtesy of I Want To Share Foundation (IWTS)
July 29, 2026
DSWD USEC Pinky Romualdez-Montenegro, IWTS Chairperson Sheila Romero, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, Tessa Prieto and Dr. Tricia Alcasabas together with the IWTS team inaugurate PGH's Bone Marrow Transplant Wing
Every Filipino child deserves access to life-saving care.
This is the line that Ms. Sheila B. Romero, founder and chairwoman of the I Want To Share Foundation (IWTS), envisioned it as the country’s first ever Charity Bone Marrow Transplant Unit.
In partnership with the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), the unit achieves in its inauguration a crucial breakthrough of making life-saving cancer treatment more accessible to Filipino children.
The Charity Bone Marrow Transplant Facility
Gathering key officials from PGH, healthcare professionals, donor partners, and pediatric cancer patients and their families, with the First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos as Guest of Honor, the event serves as a step forward for universal healthcare.
“The country’s first Charity Bone Marrow Transplant Wing stands as a promise that every Filipino child deserves access to life-saving care, regardless of their family’s financial circumstances. It is a promise that hope should never depend on one’s ability to pay,” Romero shared during her presentation.
She emphasized the foundation’s commitment to giving more children a fighting chance at life, as bone marrow transplantation remains to be among the most complex and expensive treatments in modern medicine today.
IWTS Chairperson Sheila Romero is happy to see one of the foundation's vision finally realized
“Today, it is available only in two private hospitals in the country, with treatment costs ranging from approximately Php 2-5M, placing it beyond the reach of many Filipino families,” she added.
Located in the Right Central Block of PGH, the new facility is established to help children battling leukemia and other grave blood disorders, conditions for which bone marrow transplantation is one of most effective—except, many families struggle to access the procedure due to steep cost.
In the inauguration of the facility, PGH Cancer Institute chair Dr. Patricia Alcasabas highlighted the importance of strengthening pediatric cancer care through collaborations between healthcare institutions, government, and private organizations.
A Mass was celebrated to commemmorate the occasion
The initiative is brought to life by bringing together key partners, including Genteelhome, led by Katrina Blanca de Leon, who donated the furnishings, and Architect Dan Lichauco who designed the unit.
In the ceremony, the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit is blessed, and a commemorative marker is unveiled. A guided tour was also conducted around the facility. Childhood cancer survivors and children performed a special dance presentation, followed by a musical performance by Carla Guevara.
In this initiative, the IWTS Foundation and PGH stand in a shared commitment to expanding access to specialized pediatric cancer treatment in the Philippines. With this milestone, they are renewing hope for children and families facing some of life’s toughest battles.
