Since its launch in 1992, the pediatric stem cell transplant
program has performed more than 755 stem cell transplants — autologous, allogeneic (related and unrelated), and umbilical cord blood (related and unrelated), treating a
variety of disorders, including cancers, blood disorders, immune deficiencies,
and metabollic disorders. Program features include the Chronic Graft vs. Host
Disease program, delivering comprehensive, multi-disciplinary care to patients
with this complication after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Also included
is the STAR (Survivor's Taking Action & Responsibility) Program,
which focuses on long-term survivor care and provides patients a seamless
transition from pediatric to adult long-term survivor transplant care. It also
offers one of the nation's largest pediatric outpatient stem cell transplant
programs. The stem cell transplant program is a component of the Siragusa Transplantation Center
at Children's
Memorial Hospital.
As the first freestanding pediatric program to achieve
accreditation from the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy
(FACT), the program is nationally recognized for its quality, excellence of
outcomes and multidisciplinary approach to care, research and laboratory
expertise. It is also accredited with the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP)
and provides data to the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant
Research (CIBMTR). By working with widely recognized organizations that sponsor
pediatric clinical trials, the treatment program at Children's Memorial is
complemented and enhanced. Affiliations with the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive
Cancer Center
of Northwestern University (a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center),
the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), the
Children's Oncology Group, and the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant
Consortium help make a difference for hundreds of patients each year.
Our pediatric stem cell transplant program has performed
more than 750 stem cell transplants.
Heading our programs in hematology, oncology and stem cell transplant is Morris Kletzel, MD . As a
professor at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine and an expert
in neuroblastoma and stem cell
transplantation, Dr. Kletzel and his pediatric-based research efforts have
helped make this program one of the strongest in the United States today.
Laboratories
- Stem cell processing and graft engineering laboratory
- Immunogenetics and flow cytometry laboratory
- HLA laboratory
An important feature of our program is a laboratory
facility at the cutting edge of
processing stem cells, detecting potential tumor cell contamination of the graft, HLA typing
and detection of engraftment by molecular techniques. Children's Memorial Hospital has its
own state-of-the-art HLA laboratory capable of the most sophisticated detection of alleles via
molecular sequencing.
All techniques utilized in the laboratory
are FDA approved and the laboratory has gained certification by the American
Association of Blood Banks (AABB) and the Joint Commission (JC).
Members of our technological staff are licensed by the Illinois Department of
Professional Regulation, the International Society of Hematotherapy and Graft
Engineering (ISHAGE), and the American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP).
To learn more about pediatric stem cell transplants, please email us at SiragusaTransplantWeb@childrensmemorial.org.*
* PLEASE NOTE: To protect your privacy, it is the policy of Children's
Memorial Hospital to discourage the sending of protected health information via
e-mail. For questions about possible referrals, please contact the nurses and
other staff members at 1.800.KIDS DOC. (1.800.543.7362)