Things to Consider When Choosing a Transplant Center

Hospitals that have experience performing bone marrow or cord blood transplants have special departments called transplant centers. If you are choosing a transplant center for your treatment, it is important to know what to look for and what questions to ask as you make your decision. Keep in mind that:

• Not all hospitals perform transplants using unrelated donors or cord blood units.
• You may have to travel to receive a transplant.
• Some transplant centers specialize in certain kinds of patients or diseases.
• Your doctor might recommend a specific transplant center.
• Your insurance company might have rules about which transplant centers are covered in your insurance plan. 

What to look for

There are many factors to consider when choosing a transplant center. Some patients look at a center's transplant experience with certain diseases or ages of patients. Other patients choose a transplant center close to their family and friends. 

Some things you can find out about transplant centers are:

• What experience does this transplant center have?
• What do the transplant center survival statistics mean?
• How does the number of transplants done for your disease at this center compare to other centers?
• What is the patient and donor matching level required at this center?
• What are some of the pre-transplant costs at this center?

Questions to ask

The transplant process and recovery take a long time. It is important to feel comfortable in your surroundings and have a good relationship with your transplant team. If you and your doctor have narrowed your selection to a few transplant centers, it might be helpful to contact each one:

• Ask questions to learn whether the center has the resources that are most important to you.
• Use the printable transplant center comparison worksheet (PDF) to help compare the centers you are considering.

Finally, when making your choice, it is important to work with your doctor and insurance company to find the center that is best for you.

U.S. National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) transplant center listings

You can find information to answer many of your questions in the individual U.S. NMDP transplant center listings.