(Washington, D.C.) - After months of developing policies, fine-tuning practices and completing more than the number of patient procedures required for accreditation, the team efforts of MedStar Georgetown University Hospital’s new Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplant Program (BMT) have paid off.

In early March, BMT director Scott Rowley, MD, received notice that both the clinical program and the stem cell collection facility—the nation’s largest collection program—successfully passed the tough standards established by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT), the field’s worldwide credentialing body.

“Obtaining FACT accreditation is a significant achievement for our BMT program and a validation of our excellence in cellular therapy,” says MedStar Georgetown president Richard Goldberg, MD. “Now area patients with certain blood cancers and other disorders have the benefit of this potentially life-saving treatment closer to home.”

With the award, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital’s BMT program becomes the only comprehensive transplant center within Washington, D.C., and southern Maryland with FACT accreditation for adult, autologous procedures; i.e., transplants that use the patient’s own bone marrow or stems cells.

“We’ve been cautious and purposeful in getting off the ground,” says Dr. Rowley, noting that the BMT program has doubled the number of patients treated each year since first openings its doors in 2013.  “But that painstaking approach has produced positive patient outcomes, the most important indicator of a successful program.

Dr. Rowley has more than 5,000 BMT procedures under his belt, and divides his time between MedStar Georgetown and New Jersey’s John Theurer Cancer Center—one of the 10 largest BMT programs in the nation.

Contributing to his optimism is MedStar Georgetown’s intent to begin pursuing FACT accreditation for allogeneic BMT procedures later this year. Allogeneic transplants use cells donated from someone other than the patient and are much more difficult and complex than the autologous procedures. However, the expanded service will extend the benefits of bone marrow and stem cell transplant to a larger pool of patients.

The Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplant Program is a joint effort with specialists from the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center, and a key addition to the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center’s extensive services.

About MedStar Georgetown University Hospital

MedStar Georgetown University Hospital is a not-for-profit, acute-care teaching and research hospital with 609 beds located in Northwest Washington, D.C. Founded in the Jesuit principle of cura personalis—caring for the whole person—MedStar Georgetown is committed to offering a variety of innovative diagnostic and treatment options within a trusting and compassionate environment.

MedStar Georgetown’s centers of excellence include neurosciences, transplant, cancer and gastroenterology. Along with Magnet® nurses, internationally recognized physicians, advanced research and cutting-edge technologies, MedStar Georgetown’s healthcare professionals have a reputation for medical excellence and leadership. MedStar Georgetown University Hospital—Knowledge and Compassion Focused on You.

Marianne Worley
[email protected]
703-558-1287