When you are choosing a transplant center for a bone marrow or cord blood transplant, you may want to compare the survival statistics at different centers. Use the transplant center listings to help you compare survival rates at U.S. transplant centers.
Because statistics can be hard to understand, we recommend you discuss them with your doctor. Keep in mind that these statistics may address some — but not all — of the factors that are important to consider when selecting a transplant center.
Use the Getting Started Worksheet (PDF) to help you read individual transplant center listings.
The center-specific analysis
Each U.S. transplant center's online listing includes a section labeled Center-Specific Analysis. This analysis includes:
- Only patients who received their first allogeneic* transplants between Jan. 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2010, using unrelated or related donors, AND who had at least 100-day follow-up.
- Bone marrow, peripheral blood cell (PBSC) and cord blood transplant outcomes through one year after transplant.
*Allogeneic means using cells from a person other than the patient.
The analysis considered many recipient-specific factors known to influence transplant survival, such as age, diagnosis, disease stage, general health, etc.
Results shown in the Center-Specific Analysis section of each transplant center listing can help you compare the center's performance with that of other U.S. transplant centers. The results include three items specific to each center, which are explained below:
- Number of patients transplanted
- Actual one-year survival
- Expected range for survival
Actual one-year survival
The actual one-year survival rate (item number 2 under Center-Specific Analysis) is based on all patients who received their first allogeneic transplant between Jan. 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2010, using unrelated or related donors, and who had at least 100-day follow-up.
This number reflects the percentage of patients at this center who survived one year or more after transplant. The estimated national observed one-year survival was 64.65 percent in the 18,947 patients transplanted in the United States.
Expected range for one-year survival
The expected range for one-year survival rate (item number 3 under Center-Specific Analysis) is adjusted for the mix of risk factors that can affect patient survival, such as HLA matching, recipient's age, disease and disease stage, and overall health before transplant.
The expected range for one-year survival rate shows what the survival would be if the center's same patient population had their transplants at a transplant center with results equal to the national average.
Survival by patient diagnosis and age
You will also find a section called Survival by Patient's Age, Disease Type and Stage in the center's listing. If you do not find your disease in the table, it may be combined with other similar diseases in a broad category; please refer to this disease list for your disease and its category. If your disease is listed, look at the column within your age range to find transplant and survival numbers.
The totals listed are for the period January 2008 through December 2010 for unrelated and related transplants. It only includes patients with known survival status at one year post-transplant. There will be separate tables for unrelated and related transplants for centers that performed both unrelated and related donor transplants within these respective time periods.
For each transplant center, there are seven age categories:
- 0 - 9 years
- 10 - 19 years
- 20 - 29 years
- 30 - 39 years
- 40 - 49 years
- 50 - 59 years
- 60 years and older