Bone marrow transplantation (also called hematopoietic cell transplantation) has been a life-saving therapy for more than 30 years. Today patients with blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma, sickle cell and many other diseases may be treated with transplant. Researchers continue the quest to increase survival and reduce complications.
Improving survival rates
Research has already delivered results and is saving lives today. Over the past five years, the one-year survival rate for unrelated donor transplants has increased by 12%, from 42% to 54%, a rate that is now comparable to that of related donor transplants. Survival rates are higher for many patients, such as those who receive a transplant early in the course of their disease, which research has shown to improve outcomes.
Addressing all aspects of treatment
Research studies can focus at any point in the complex transplant process such as:
- Maximizing survival by improving donor-patient matching – learn how our Research Sample Repository provides critical data to this research
- Selecting the best source of cells (marrow, umbilical cord blood or peripheral blood stem cells) to fit the patient and disease
- Modifying pre-transplant conditioning regimens (chemotherapy and/or radiation) to match the patient’s disease – learn more about disease-specific research studies
- Studying the use of transplantation for rare diseases and new indications
- Finding ways to multiply umbilical cord blood cells in the laboratory, so more adults can receive a cord blood transplant
- Determining the right time in the course of a disease for transplant
- Developing new methods to combat post-transplant infections – learn how promising new researchers are finding solutions
One way your funding helps
Be The Match Foundation® understands investing in cutting-edge research is critical to serving more patients in need of a transplant.
Funding laboratory equipment and the precise, time-consuming protocols of both clinical trials and observational studies are clear. But your contributions will also help accelerate the analysis of statistical data, enabling research findings to be published more quickly — so doctors can apply those findings to their patient care.
You have the power to heal. Please give to support research.