Blood and Marrow Transplantation
Our Blood and Marrow Transplantation (BMT) team is the only group in the Washington, DC area fully dedicated to pediatric patients. Our team, under the leadership of Division Chief David Jacobsohn, MD, ScM treats more children and teens than all other area hospitals combined.
Children’s National is a nationally recognized leader in treatment for blood and bone marrow disorders. In addition, because of our additional expertise in caring for children and teens, the majority of area physicians refer their young patients to our specialists.
Conditions Treated
For more than 20 years, Children’s National has supported families and cared for children with these chronic and complex conditions. Our division experts treat children and young adults who require transplantation services and other advanced treatment therapies for various diseases and disorders, including:
Treatment Therapies
Specific treatment therapies include allogeneic (related and unrelated), autologous (self), and cord blood transplants for malignant and non-malignant pediatric conditions. We have novel BMT approaches that aim at improving outcomes and decreasing toxicity in specific areas such as high-risk leukemia and sickle cell disease. We also offer cutting-edge therapies to treat complications of BMT, including extracorporeal photopheresis for graft-versus-host disease.
Facility and Resources
Our program is accredited by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy and the National Marrow Donor Program. Our treatment center is a state-of-the-art facility, among the most advanced in the country. Private HEPA-filtered isolation rooms and a specialized water system ensure a high level of protection against infections and an environment essential to successful transplantation. It also is family friendly. During procedures, many children sleep, read, play video games, or watch a movie on a portable DVD player. Parents are welcome to stay in the room during the transplant admission. We have a dedicated outpatient clinic where BMT patients can receive all their care once discharged. Nurses taking care of our children are dedicated specifically to BMT.
The group taking care of our patients is a multidisciplinary team comprised of dedicated physicians, nurses, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, psychologist, social worker, physical therapists, music therapists, and child life specialists.
Research at Children’s National
Children’s doctors and medical professionals are involved in various research studies and clinical trials to improve treatment therapies for children, with the ultimate goal of finding a cure for these devastating and often debilitating conditions.
Specialists in our Division of Blood and Bone Marrow Transplantation lead national clinical trials that are moving the field forward. They also participate in research activities with the National Institutes of Health Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network, the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research, and the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Consortium. The division is also a Children’s Oncology Group-accredited transplant program.
There are several clinical trials for BMT patients offered in conjunction with these organizations and Children’s Research Institute at Children’s National Medical Center. To learn more about enrolling your child in a current clinical trial, speak with your child’s physician.
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