Blood and Marrow Stem Cell Transplantation Program

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Over 400 transplants performed annually

Advances in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation have made this approach an option for more people with hematologic cancers and benign blood disorders, including older patients and those with multiple medical issues. For more than 25 years, physicians in the Adult Blood and Marrow Stem Cell Transplantation Program at John Theurer Cancer Center, part of Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, have provided this lifesaving therapy. With over 6,000 transplants since 1990 and some 400 every year, we have one of the largest and most experienced transplantation programs in the United States. It is one of the top 10 in the country. High volume translates to better outcomes for our patients.

A Multidisciplinary Approach To Treatment

Your transplant team features doctors with decades of experience in stem cell and bone marrow transplantation, including specialists who focus on specific diseases such as leukemia and multiple myeloma. The entire team meets weekly to develop comprehensive treatment plans for each of our patients. Our transplant team also includes advanced practice nurses, case managers, nurse navigators, social workers, pharmacists, and registered dieticians—all specializing in the care of transplant patients. Many of our nurses have achieved certification in oncology and bone marrow transplantation.

Together, your team members do all they can to ensure your comfort, support your family, and enhance the chance of transplant success. We don’t just care for you, but about you. In fact, according to Press-Ganey surveys, 99 percent of our patients report satisfaction with their care.

Comprehensive Expertise

Blood and marrow stem cell transplantation is an option for many patients with:

Acute myelogenous and lymphoblastic leukemia
Chronic myelogenous and lymphocytic leukemia
Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (with more than 1,500 transplants performed for lymphoma)
Multiple myeloma (we perform more allogeneic transplants for multiple myeloma than any other center in our region)
Amyloidosis
Myelodysplastic syndromes
Myeloproliferative neoplasms
Aplastic anemia and bone marrow failure
Hemoglobinopathies (including thalassemia and sickle cell disease)
Germ cell tumors

Our Transplantation Services

We perform all types of allogeneic (donor) and autologous (self) blood and marrow stem cell transplantation, and have special expertise in:

Matched and mismatched transplants from unrelated donors
Haploidentical transplants (receiving a transplant from someone who partially matches you immunologically)
Umbilical cord blood transplantation
Bloodless medicine (no transfusions) for autologous transplantation

We also have one of the largest apheresis facilities in the country (performing removal of stem cells for harvesting and transplantation), and one of the strongest photophoresis programs—a therapy to treat complications after transplant, such as graft-versus-host disease (a complication in which immune cells from the donor attack tissues of the recipient, causing inflammation and other symptoms).

Clinical Trials to Enhance Transplantation Outcomes

Our team is heavily involved in multiple clinical trials. We offer investigational therapies through our collaboration with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Immunology Branch and Georgetown University. You may have the opportunity to participate in a clinical trial evaluating new approaches to enhancing post-transplant care. Our research has a strong focus on reducing the complications of transplantation and also lowering the risk of recurrence. For example, we are the first team in the world to combine checkpoint inhibitors (drugs that work by inhibiting the proteins cancer cells use to evade detection by the immune system) after transplantation, at a time where the newly reset immune system has the best opportunity to eliminate residual cancer cells.

Partnering with Referring Physicians

If you are a physician referring a patient to us, we will communicate with you—directly and as often as you wish—to keep you apprised of your patient’s treatment and progress. Our dedicated transplant coordinators serve as intermediaries between your office, the medical team, your patients, and their families. After transplantation is completed, patients will return for continued care with their referring physicians

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