Local foods, food-safety habits, hospital daily life, travel during treatment, the health system, language and emergency numbers from reliable sources.
Keep a translation of your diagnosis, treatment plan and medication list in this language or in English. Many hospitals offer interpreters — ask in advance.
Health system overview
There is a public health system for insured residents. People insured in another EU/EEA country can get medically necessary state healthcare during a temporary stay with a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC); it does not replace travel insurance or cover planned treatment. Visitors from outside the EU need full travel insurance.
Leukemia care: centres
Lithuania
Auto + allo
Main centres
Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos, Hematology, Oncology and Transfusion Medicine Center, Vilnius
Hospital of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Kauno klinikos, Kaunas
Transplant: Vilnius performs autologous, related and unrelated allogeneic and haploidentical transplants, about 180–190 a year according to the centre. Kaunas has done autologous transplants since 2015 and allogeneic ones since 2020.
Good to know: Lithuania’s unrelated donor registry is based at Santaros Klinikos; according to the centre, patients from other countries are also transplanted there.
Wherever you live, the core rules with low immunity are the same: clean hands, keeping raw and cooked food apart, cooking thoroughly, chilling quickly and choosing pasteurised dairy. At local markets and street stalls, watch how food is stored. Ask your team whether tap water is fine for you; if unsure, use bottled or boiled water.
Hospital daily life
In these countries daily care is usually provided by nurses, meals come from the hospital kitchen and visiting hours are set. If you want to bring food from home, ask the ward first. An interpreter can often be booked in advance.
Travel during treatment
Talk to your care team before planning a trip — timing, blood counts and vaccines.
Carry a doctor’s letter with your diagnosis, treatment plan and medication list (including in English).
Pack medicines in original packaging, in hand luggage, with extra; some medicines have import rules.
Get travel insurance that covers your existing condition and read the terms.
Find the nearest haematology centre and the emergency number at your destination in advance.
Live vaccines can be unsafe during treatment — ask your team before any vaccination.
Ask your team about clot risk on long flights and move around when you can.
For people insured in another EU/EEA country, the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) covers medically necessary state healthcare during a temporary stay; it does not replace travel insurance or planned treatment.