Questions to Ask the Transplant Center

There are a lot of things to consider when you choose a transplant center for a bone marrow or cord blood transplant. If you have narrowed your choices to a few transplant centers, it might be helpful to contact each center. Find out whether the transplant center offers the resources that are important to you.

Use the Transplant Center Worksheet (PDF) to compile the answers to some of these questions:

• At this transplant center, does a patient see the same transplant doctor throughout care or an alternating team of transplant doctors?
• What is an average length of hospital stay?
• What are the center's visitor policies? Are children allowed? What about guest overnight stays?
• What infection control measures does this center use? Do patients have their own rooms? Do visitors have to wear masks?
• Can pediatric patients continue schooling while at the center? Are tutoring services available?
• What support is available for patients, caregivers and children? (Support available might include child-life specialists, clergy, social workers, volunteers or day care.)
• Are patients able to connect to the Internet from their rooms?
• How does this center manage post-transplant care?
• How does this center stay in contact with the patient's primary doctor after discharge?