December 18, 2020 03:37 PM -
St. Louis, MO – On December 17, the Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant Program at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital reached a milestone they haven’t achieved in two decades: 100 transplants in one year. The BMT program at SLU Hospital also happens to be celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
“We didn’t really imagine doing this number of transplants this year,” said Dr. Mark Fesler, SLUCare oncologist and director of the BMT program. “We’ve had to balance the risk of the COVID pandemic but still take care of patients with life-threatening blood cancers. It’s been a hard year for both the patients and the program staff but accomplishing that volume of work in the last year is something that we’re all proud of.”
Three patients received a transplant at SLU Hospital on December 17, including Jan Johnson, 62, from Joplin, Mo. Jan received what was her second stem cell transplant, which comes 12 years after her first stem cell transplant when she was diagnosed with leukemia. She went into remission, but the leukemia came back in March of this year, right as the pandemic started. Her doctors discovered sarcomas along her spine, which is rare, and she had been waiting to receive her transplant since June 2020.
After several setbacks, Jan finally received her life-saving treatment on December 17. Right before her treatment, she FaceTimed with several members of her family, including her 28-year-old daughter and primary caregiver, Katy. CLICK HERE to access photos and videos from the procedure.
The BMT program at SLU Hospital grew exponentially after opening St. Louis’ only Center for Outpatient Blood and Marrow Transplantation, a joint effort with SLUCare Physician Group, in 2012 – we did 24 transplants that year. You can see how much our numbers have increased in the last two decades:
This is the only center in the region where blood and marrow transplant recipients can be treated during the day and return home at night, provided they remain within a 30-minute drive of the center.
“We didn’t really imagine doing this number of transplants this year,” said Dr. Mark Fesler, SLUCare oncologist and director of the BMT program. “We’ve had to balance the risk of the COVID pandemic but still take care of patients with life-threatening blood cancers. It’s been a hard year for both the patients and the program staff but accomplishing that volume of work in the last year is something that we’re all proud of.”
Three patients received a transplant at SLU Hospital on December 17, including Jan Johnson, 62, from Joplin, Mo. Jan received what was her second stem cell transplant, which comes 12 years after her first stem cell transplant when she was diagnosed with leukemia. She went into remission, but the leukemia came back in March of this year, right as the pandemic started. Her doctors discovered sarcomas along her spine, which is rare, and she had been waiting to receive her transplant since June 2020.
After several setbacks, Jan finally received her life-saving treatment on December 17. Right before her treatment, she FaceTimed with several members of her family, including her 28-year-old daughter and primary caregiver, Katy. CLICK HERE to access photos and videos from the procedure.
The BMT program at SLU Hospital grew exponentially after opening St. Louis’ only Center for Outpatient Blood and Marrow Transplantation, a joint effort with SLUCare Physician Group, in 2012 – we did 24 transplants that year. You can see how much our numbers have increased in the last two decades:
| 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
| 15 | 39 | 38 | 36 | 29 | 22 | 18 | 21 | 21 | 28 | 24 | 33 | 51 | 44 | 62 | 71 | 69 | 85 | 100+ |
This is the only center in the region where blood and marrow transplant recipients can be treated during the day and return home at night, provided they remain within a 30-minute drive of the center.
