Giving Compass' Take:

· Seattle's successful Fred Hutch Bone Marrow Transplant Program is being recognized again nationally for outperforming the expected one-year survival rates. 

· What are the major risks and worries with bone marrow transplants? How has the Fred Hutch Bone Marrow Transplant Program become so successful with this work? 

· Here's more on the Fred Hutch Bone Marrow Transplant Program. 

The Fred Hutch Bone Marrow Transplant Program at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance has once again earned national recognition for outperforming expected one-year survival rates. The Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research® issued the results in an annual report that is designed to provide potential stem cell transplant recipients, their families and the public with comparative survival rates among transplant centers. This is the sixth consecutive year that the Fred Hutch BMT program at SCCA has achieved higher than expected one-year survival rates, an accomplishment achieved by only four other transplant centers in the report.

“Patients want to be assured that they’re receiving the best care to support survival, outstanding treatment outcomes and continuous quality of life, and we’re proud of our record of six continuous years surpassing the expected survival rates for our allogeneic BMT program,” said Dr. Nancy E. Davidson, president and executive director of SCCA and senior vice president of the Clinical Research Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. “Continued recognition by notable organizations like CIBMTR, NCI and others provides credibility to support and reassure patients and referring physicians that the partners in our alliance make a marked difference in providing high-quality, validated options for cancer care."

Allogeneic transplants use stem cells from a donor who may or may not be related to the patient. Stem cell transplants, including bone marrow transplants, are used to treat a wide range of leukemias and lymphomas, as well as other diseases including severe aplastic anemia and sickle cell disease.

Read the full article about bone marrow transplant survival rates at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.