Blood & Marrow Program Reports Best Survival Outcomes in the Nation
The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), the federally funded organization that facilitates most matched unrelated donor (MUD) transplants in the U.S., has released outcome data that indicate Northside Hospital’s Blood & Marrow Transplant (BMT) Program has, by far, the best survival rates for MUD transplants of any program in the country. Outcome data was based on patients, who received their first transplant (related or unrelated) January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2008 and received at least a 100-day follow up. Rankings are among programs that performed more than two transplants during the research period.
Transplanting healthy marrow may be the best and only hope of a cure for life-threatening diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma and other blood disorders. However, thousands of patients each year do not have a family member that is a close-enough donor match. The BMT Program at Northside is one of the largest and most comprehensive programs in the Southeast, serving patients who require bone marrow or stem cell transplants. The program performs the full range of available hematopoietic transplants including those from matched unrelated, matched sibling and haploidentical donors, and cord blood transplants.
In 2010, 175 transplants were performed at Northside, placing the hospital among the top 10 percent of all BMT programs in the nation in terms of volume. The one-year survival of MUD patients transplanted at Northside was 77 percent, the best of any BMT program (>14 transplants) in the country and above the estimated national one-year survival of 56.3 percent.
“Although transplant volume is important, our philosophy at Northside is focused on providing the most patient-friendly experience and the best clinical outcomes for patients undergoing BMT,” said H. Kent Holland, M.D., medical director, BMT Program at Northside Hospital. “The compassionate and state-of-the-art care provided surpasses that of many of the country’s most prestigious, academically-oriented programs.”
In 2010, Northside also was selected to join the National Cancer Institute Community Cancer Centers Program (NCCCP), an exclusive group of 30 community cancer centers. Northside is the only hospital in Atlanta and one of only three hospitals in the southeastern United States chosen for this prestigious honor.
“The BMT Program’s high level of expertise in blood and marrow transplant therapy and strong portfolio of clinical research play an integral role in Northside’s award from the NCCCP,” said Patti Owen, director of oncology services, Northside Hospital. “We are extremely proud of the commitment to quality of the more than 160 professionals that work in our program.”
An accomplished group of nationally recognized physicians, along with a team of highly trained professionals, spearhead the amazing work that takes place in Northside’s newly renovated inpatient and outpatient BMT units, laboratory and blood donor center. Together, they provide patients with promising hope for a disease-free existence.
Find out more about the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at Northside Hospital.
For more information about the National Marrow Donor Program, visit www.nmdp.org or www.BeTheMatch.org
