A bone marrow or cord blood transplant (also called a BMT) can be used to treat patients who have a life-threatening blood cancer or metabolic or immune system disorder. A bone marrow or cord blood transplant replaces a patient's diseased cells with healthy blood-forming cells so that the patient can live a longer, healthier life.
The blood-forming cells (stem cells) can come from:- The marrow of a donor or the umbilical cord blood collected after a baby is born.
- The patient (autologous) or from a relative or unrelated donor (allogeneic).
The C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program (Program) is one part of the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005, Public Law 109-129. The Program was authorized to help more patients have a successful bone marrow or cord blood transplant.
The Stem Cell Therapeutic Outcomes Database (SCTOD) is one of four components of the Program. The SCTOD stores data about marrow and cord blood transplants and provides information for research to help improve patient outcomes.
According to the contract, the SCTOD contractor will:
- Provide an electronic outcomes database of scientific information about allogeneic bone marrow or cord blood transplantation to be used by researchers and health care professionals.
- Collect and analyze information about:
- Diagnoses for which transplant may be a treatment option.
- Transplant preparation and procedures.
- Patient outcomes.
- Patients' quality of life.
- New uses for cells found in bone marrow, peripheral blood and umbilical cord blood.
- Work with transplant centers to ease the reporting of data.
- Report information about:
- The need for donors and cord blood units to policymakers, based on data from the Program.
- Patient outcomes for each transplant center annually to the public.
- Transplant research to the public, researchers, and health care professionals.
- Store blood samples from donors and patients that will be used for transplant research.
- Work closely with experts from all areas of bone marrow and cord blood transplantation.
