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Reggio Calabria
Bone Marrow Transplant Centre
Centro Trapianti di Midollo Osseo
The Bone Marrow Transplant Centre in Reggio Calabria is a reference for stem cell transplantation in Southern Italy and the Mediterranean basin, providing each patient with the highest quality of medical care.
At the beginning of 2006, the centre had performed totally more than 1.000 stem cells transplants, with a median number of transplants per year of 100. The demand of treatments from patients outside the Calabria has grown, accounting for 25% of the admissions.
The activity volume places the centre among the top 10 Italian Institutions, according to the annual GITMO (Italian Group of Bone Marrow Transplant) survey.
The survival rate of our patients undergoing allogeneic transplantation was judged excellent by the CNT (National Transplant Centre) of the Italian Ministry of Health, which recently performed a qualitative evaluation of the Italian transplant centres.
The high number of transplants per year ranks our Centre 47th (on 547 in 42 Nations), according to the EBMT (European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation).
EBMT, GITMO (Gruppo Italiano Trapianti Midollo Osseo), IBMDR (Italian Bone Marrow Donor Registry) and CNT (Centro Nazionale Trapianti) certified that our team is able to perform the following transplant procedures:
• Autologous transplant
• Allogeneic transplant from sibling donor
• Allogeneic transplant from voluntary donor (MUD)
• Centre collecting samples from voluntary donors
The Stem Cell Transplants performed in our Centre in 2006 were as following:
| Allogeneic |
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Related Matched |
21 |
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Haploidentical/Mismatched |
3 |
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Unrelated |
6 |
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Related Out-Patient |
3 |
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Total Allogeneic
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33 |
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| Autologous |
|
In-Patient |
55 |
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Out-Patient |
11 |
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Total Autologous |
66 |
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| Total Transplants |
99 |
Our Facilities:
The transplant unit is a state-of-the-art facility with eight unidirectional positive-pressure laminar airflow isolation rooms. Each room has intensive care monitoring capabilities. Each inpatient room is equipped with an internet access, TV, exercise bicycle. Upon request and as available, a VCR can be obtained for the patient's use. The Day hospital has equipments that allow to perform outpatient stem cell transplants. Outpatient’s services are based in a residence accommodation offered by Associazione Italiana Contro le Leucemie (AIL), which provides also other support for patients and their families. At present, our clinical staff includes 8 physicians and 21 nurses.
Laboratory Activities:
The laboratory is completely equipped with instruments capable of supporting research activities of processing stem cells, graft engineering, detecting tumor cell contamination of the graft, HLA typing, stem cell expansion and detection of engraftment. All techniques utilized in the laboratory are certified and the laboratory has begun the rigorous process to obtain accreditation by the Joint Accreditation Committee of ISCT & EBMT (JACIE) and The Foundation for the Accreditation of Haematopoietic Cell Therapy (FAHCT-NETCORD).
At present the laboratory staff includes: 8 biologists, 3 technicians, and 3 administrative staff. The Cells Institute (laboratory) at the Bone Marrow Transplant Center in Reggio Calabria includes:
o Laboratory of Molecular Biology
o Laboratory of Flow Cytometry
o Laboratory of Stem Cell Processing and Cryobank
o Calabria Cord Blood Bank (CBB).
In 2006, the Stem Cell Processing laboratory performed 3.593 procedures; the Molecular Biology laboratory 7.771; the Flow Cytometry laboratory 2.044.
In particular, the laboratory of Molecular Biology is responsible for developing strategies of study and consolidation of diagnostic techniques with regard to problems related to the patient’s management, as the study of the minimal residual disease (MRD), the haematological chimerism, the infectious monitoring and the characterization of host's cellular immune response manifested in terms of differential cytokine gene expression through quantitative PCR in patients suffering from GVHD.
The mission of the Flow Cytometry laboratory encompasses two programs. First, basic haematological diagnostic support is provided to members of the CTMO. The laboratory staff also participates in development of flow cytometry applications and resources to be used in patient’s immunological monitoring after transplant and in the evaluation of MRD.
The laboratory of Stem Cell Processing processes grafts used for transplantation by the Transplant Center. Stem cells may be obtained by performing a leukopheresis, a process that collects white cells from the peripheral blood, or by undergoing a bone marrow harvest. After collection, the product is brought to the Stem Cell Processing Laboratory for evaluation and further processing. The laboratory performs various procedures to obtain the highest quality product for transplantation. Once processing has been completed, the cells are treated with a cryoprotective agent and then cryopreserved using a controlled rate freezer. They are then stored in liquid nitrogen to preserve their viability until needed.
The following services can be provided based on patient requirements:
1. Processing and cryopreservation of peripheral blood stem cells and bone marrow for autologous and allogeneic transplantation.
2. CD34+ stem cell selection of peripheral blood and bone marrow for autologous transplantation.
3. T-lymphocyte depletion of peripheral blood and bone marrow for allogeneic transplantation using CD34+ selection.
4. Processing of peripheral blood stem cells for allogeneic donor leukocyte infusion.
The primary purpose of Calabria CBB is to collect and store umbilical cord blood for use in transplantation. Moreover, it is responsible for evaluating the safety of methods used to prepare cord blood cells for transplantation, and determining how effective cord blood cell transplantation may be in treating disorders such as blood cancers and degenerative diseases.
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