8/13/2013

UPMC CancerCenter’s Adult Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Program has been awarded a three-year re-accreditation by the nonprofit Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT). The move reflects the program’s commitment to quality clinical care and laboratory practice in cellular therapy.

To receive re-accreditation, program leadership successfully demonstrated its adherence to FACT’s strict standards, which emphasize the clinical use of cellular therapy products collected and processed with rigorous controls. FACT officials then visited the Mario Lemieux Center for Blood Cancers, the program’s new home as of January 2013, to administer an on-site inspection of the program’s staff and processes.

“As the largest regional provider of stem cell transplantation services in western Pennsylvania, our team is pleased to be recognized again by such a prestigious organization,” said Mounzer E. Agha, M.D., director, Mario Lemieux Center for Blood Cancers, and clinical director, Stem Cell Transplant Program, Division of Hematology-Oncology, University of Pittsburgh Department of Medicine. “This re-accreditation is external validation of what we strive for — the quality and excellence of our services to provide the best outcomes to our patients.”

Since 1990, UPMC doctors have performed more than 1,400 bone marrow or stem cell transplants to treat patients with a variety of diseases. The program averages 150 transplants a year.

FACT was founded by the International Society for Cellular Therapy and the American Society of Blood and Bone Marrow Transplantation. The standards set by FACT are evidence-based requirements established by world-renowned experts.