Transplant Patients Celebrate Re-Birthdays and 21st Year of Stanford Hospital & Clinics Bone and Marrow Transplant Program
For Release: July 21, 2009
Media Contact: Robyn Horn
rohorn@stanfordmed.org
650-723-0876
STANFORD, Calif.— The Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT) team at Stanford Hospital & Clinics often refers to a patient’s transplant day as their “new-birth” or “re-birth” day. Receiving a transplant grants patients a second chance at life, and the BMT team at Stanford celebrates these second chances every year.
Bone Marrow Transplant patients celebrating their "re-birth" days at Stanford after a special lei ceremony.
Several hundred former patients and their families will reunite with the staff of the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at Stanford Hospital & Clinics on Saturday, July 25, 2009, for a re-birthday celebration. The Annual Reunion, which begins at 11:30AM on the Dean’s Lawn, will also recognize the many accomplishments and advances of the BMT Program over the last 21 years.
During the celebration, patients will mark their new birthdays with a lei ceremony and a special live musical performance by The Blood Brothers; a country band comprised of a transplant recipient, his sons, and the transplant recipient’s donor – his brother. Along with more than 600 friends and family members of the 300 patients in attendance, 110 will be celebrating 10-20 years post transplant, and 10 patients will mark an incredible 20+ years out.
The reunion is an important way to spread awareness about BMT donation. Robert Negrin, MD, Director of the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at Stanford, emphasizes that “this day punctuates the continued need for enhancing the pool of unrelated marrow donors who can offer the gift of hope for still many more patients in need.” While BMT now treats diseases that were once considered incurable, and saves thousands of lives each year, 70% of those needing a transplant do not have a tissue match within their family so their type is searched within the National Marrow Donor Program for a possible match.
Negrin added that the “annual BMT Reunion is the highlight of our year, illuminating many successes of the program and strengthening our commitment to the work that remains to be done on behalf of our patients.” Since its inception in 1987, the BMT Program at Stanford Hospital & Clinics has performed more than 3,800 transplants, and currently provides transplants to more than 230 patients each year. Transplants are available for a variety of malignant and non-malignant diseases including lymphoma, myeloma, leukemia, myelodsplastic syndrome and selected solid tumors. The program takes a unique collaborative approach to treatment, where staff nurses, advanced practice nurses, physician assistants, physicians, dietitians, social workers and pharmacists all participate together in each patient’s plan of care.
The BMT program at Stanford Hospital & Clinics is among a select few in the country currently funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to conduct clinical research designed to improve patient outcomes. The program is fully accredited by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy and is a member of the BMT Clinical Trials Network of the NIH.
About Stanford Hospital & Clinics
Stanford Hospital & Clinics is known worldwide for advanced treatment of complex disorders in areas such as cardiovascular care, cancer treatment, neurosciences, surgery, and organ transplants. Consistently ranked among the top institutions in the U.S. News & World Report annual list of "America's Best Hospitals," Stanford Hospital & Clinics is internationally recognized for translating medical breakthroughs into the care of patients. It is part of the Stanford University Medical Center, along with the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford. For more information, visit http://stanfordmedicine.org.