Stem Cell Transplant Program

UVA Stem Cell Transplant Program treats patients with high-risk and life-threatening blood diseases. Our program has the highest level of accreditation, including Federation for Accreditation of Cell Therapy (FACT) and National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP)/Be The Match Registry approval. Based on our excellent outcome results, we are a Center of Excellence for many insurance companies.

Conditions We Treat

How Does It Work?

Stem cells reside in both the spongy tissue inside bones and the peripheral blood. In patients with diseases like leukemia, stem cells malfunction and produce abnormal cells. In a stem cell / bone marrow transplant, stem cells are taken from healthy marrow or blood and given to a patient after chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. When a transplant is successful, the new stem cells produce healthy blood cells.

It may take several weeks for the donor stem cells in the bone marrow to begin to function fully. The new bone marrow cells will produce healthy red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.

Stem cell transplantation may be done using:

Stem cells that were taken from your own bone marrow or blood and stored
Stem cells from a donor's bone marrow or blood

Types of Transplants

Autologous stem cell transplant (uses cells from your own body, usually collected from the blood)
Allogeneic or donor stem cell transplants (in 2018, almost everyone has a donor)
Matched related donor, usually a brother or a sister
Matched unrelated donor (there are over 25 million volunteer donors in the Be The Match registry)
Umbilical cord blood (stem cells donated from a newborn baby that have been frozen)
Haploidentical transplant, from a family member who is not a perfect match

A Vital Treatment Option

Stem cell transplantation is effective for an increasing number of cancers and blood disorders. Stem cells can differentiate into and retain the properties of many cell types, providing a lifetime source of new cells. With increased survival rates, stem cell transplants have become a significant treatment option for these disorders.

Our Team

The program's team includes more than 20 doctors, nurses and technical staff with experience that includes:

You, the patient. You are the most important member of our team.
Your family and friends, who can serve as your caregivers.
Our UVA transplant team has more than 15 years of research and patient care in bone marrow, stem cell and umbilical cord transplant
Work in umbilical cord blood stem cell biology that's helped create new treatments for patients with blood and heart diseases
Laboratory research that allows our team to offer you the most modern treatments.

Clinical & Research Expertise

UVA Cancer Center is a National Cancer Institute Clinical Cancer Center. Our transplant program has significant expertise:

Transplant physicians with extensive experience
Nurses who are trained and experienced in the care of transplant patients
Nurse coordinators, financial counselors, social workers, physical therapists, pharmacists, and dietitians dedicated to the care of transplant patients
Experienced labs that meet the high standards set by professional laboratory organizations
Subspecialty consultants in areas such as cardiology, infectious disease and critical care

UVA Cancer Center is one of only two NMDP/Be The Match programs in Virginia.

Clinical Research Trials

Clinical research trials offer the latest in treatments, including some treatments not available at other centers. All of our clinical trials are approved by a separate committee called an Institutional Review Board (IRB) that ensures your safety. We are an approved member of several national research groups, including Bone Marrow Transplant-Clinical Trials Network (BMT-CTN), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) and the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR).

Our clinical trials currently include a new therapy called Chimeric Antigen Receptor-T (CAR-T cell therapy). We also have trials for sickle cell anemia and graft vs host disease. We have several studies that look at ways to decrease relapse after transplant.