New Related Donor Services Help More Patients in Need of Transplant
We have extended our services to patients receiving a transplant from a relative. Our new Related Donor Services can help transplant centers overcome related donor travel, logistical and financial barriers that might delay, prevent, or prompt the use of a less optimal donor source for the transplant.
Today, when a patient is in need of HCT from a related donor, the patient’s transplant center plans for the related donor’s cell donation to occur at their center. Usually this is not a problem. However, there are times when the related donor is unable to travel to the transplant center for various reasons: unable to take time away from work, unable to afford the cost of travel and lodging, or unable to obtain an international travel visa for entry to the U.S.
In these cases the transplant center may now request Related Donor Services from NMDP/Be The Match. Leveraging our existing Network, we can facilitate the donor’s evaluation and cell collection at a location convenient to the donor. If you have questions about this service, please contact Alicia Silver alicia.silver@nmdp.org.
Update on Medicare Clinical Trials for HCT
As we reported in the last edition, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has expanded coverage for allogeneic transplantation for sickle cell disease (SCD), multiple myeloma, and myelofibrosis for patients enrolled in CMS-approved clinical trials as part of its Coverage with Evidence Determination (CED) mechanism.
To help patients more easily access this coverage, CIBMTR® (Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research®), our research program, is facilitating national clinical studies for each of these indications. Trials for SCD and myelofibrosis have already been approved by CMS and a trial for multiple myeloma is currently under development. In addition, a trial for Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) has been open since 2010.
You can stay up to date on study development for all three diseases by visiting the CIBMTR website.
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