Why Transplant Research

Without research focused exclusively on transplant science, medical breakthroughs would not be possible and patients would not receive a second chance at life. Progress has been made, but more research is needed to advance the field of blood and marrow transplantation.

We conduct research through our research program, CIBMTR® (Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research®), in collaboration with the Medical College of Wisconsin.

What makes our research program unique?

  • We focus exclusively on blood and marrow transplant research
  • Our research supports patients at every step in their transplant journey, including matching and recovery
  • We operate the Stem Cell Therapeutic Outcomes Database: a program authorized by Congress to collect the detailed results of every allogeneic transplant performed in the U.S.
  • Our extensive network of research partners includes more than 500 hospitals and research centers worldwide

Four key areas that need support

  • Clinical Studies

    Over 250 studies currently underway

  • Pediatric Cancer

    Meeting the unique needs of children and young adults

  • Ancestry & Genetics

    Enhanced donor-patient matching

  • Transplant Complications

    Improving recovery and long-term quality of life

How our research is helping patients

  • Launched a successful clinical trials network focused on transplant research
  • Expanded access to transplant to treat more diseases
  • Advanced the science of matching based on ancestry and genetics
  • Improved transplants to meet the unique needs of older and younger patients
  • Reduced complications by making transplants safer and more effective
  • Created one of the world’s largest transplant research resources: a repository of donor and recipient cells and DNA
  • Clinical studies have resulted in more than 900 journal articles, book chapters, and other publications

How your gift makes a difference

Zalika, marrow transplant recipient

"Other transplant patients talk about getting their life back. But I’d been sick all my life. I tell people that researchers and my donor gave me my life. Thanks to them, I have a life time, opportunity, hope."

Lisa, marrow transplant recipient

"I am eternally grateful to Be The Match. Being over 50, I benefited from research that has improved survival rates for older patients. Today, I am cancer free and get to watch my children grow."

Jiro, father of transplant recipient, Finn

"As the father of a Japanese American child, I know it’s difficult to find donor matches for patients of diverse ethnic backgrounds. Finn is alive today because of genetics and ancestry research that helped him find his life-saving match."

How transplant works

Healthy marrow and blood cells are needed to live. When diseases such as blood cancer affect the marrow so that it cannot function properly, a marrow or cord blood transplant could be the best treatment option, and for some patients, offers the only potential cure.

A marrow transplant takes the donor’s healthy blood-forming cells and puts them into the patient’s bloodstream, where they begin to make healthy red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Patients receive high doses of chemotherapy to prepare their body for the transplant. On transplant day, the patient receives the donated cells in a process that is like getting blood or medicine through an intravenous (IV) catheter, or tube.

Because nearly seventy percent of patients do not have a fully matched family donor, physicians turn to our Be The Match Registry® to identify potential matched donors.

We could not do this life-saving work without supporters like you. Dedicate your day to research today to help improve survival rates, expand the use of transplant for other diseases, fight complications, and fund life-saving research.