MedStar Georgetown Awarded Another International Accreditation for Stem Cell and Bone Marrow Transplantation

The MedStar Georgetown University Hospital Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Immunotherapy Program has earned internationally-recognized accreditation to now provide the full range of the newest treatment options for patients who need bone marrow or stem cell transplantation. The latest recognition from the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) accredits MedStar Georgetown to use donor bone marrow or stem cells for what’s called allogeneic transplantation to treat certain blood cancers or other diseases. The program earned FACT accreditation for patients using their own cells, also known as autologous transplantation in 2015.

In addition, the program earned accreditation to provide cell-based immunotherapies, such as the rapidly developing treatments using autologous CAR T-cells in the treatment of lymphoma, leukemia, and multiple myeloma.

FACT accreditation is internationally-recognized and awarded to programs that prove to be compliant with the latest and most stringent industry standards, which are defined by leading experts in cellular therapy.

MedStar Georgetown has the only FACT accredited adult stem cell and cellular immunotherapy program in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area.

“I’m really proud of our team’s hard work in meeting these rigorous requirements to achieve excellence in all different types of bone marrow transplantation,” said Scott Rowley, MD, FACP, director of the Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Immunotherapy Program at MedStar Georgetown. “Everything we do is in an effort to bring the highest quality of care to our patients.”

Dr. Rowley’s team submitted evaluation documentation and underwent a thorough onsite inspection to attain FACT accreditation.

“Our accreditation for donor bone marrow or stem cell transplantation and cellular immunotherapy now provides these highly effective treatments to residents of the D.C. metropolitan region, and marks a major milestone in the growth of our program.  Allogeneic transplants require the highest level of proficiency and clinical expertise, and earning FACT accreditation recognizes the quality of care provided at MedStar Georgetown,” says Dr. Rowley.

In addition to successfully passing standards for both autologous and allogeneic transplantation and immune effector cell therapy, MedStar Georgetown also received accreditation for marrow and peripheral blood stem cell collection, and for laboratory processing of cellular therapy products.

The Stem Cell and Cellular Therapy Program at MedStar Georgetown is a close collaboration with specialists from the John Theurer Cancer Center of Hackensack Meridian Health, one of the nation’s 10 largest stem cell transplant programs, and is a key component of the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, the only cancer center in the region to be designated by the National Cancer Institute as a Comprehensive Cancer Center. 

The three-year FACT accreditation for the MedStar Georgetown Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplant Clinical Program is effective February 24, 2018.