Why Choose UCLA for Bone Marrow Transplant

The hospital you choose to treat leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma or other blood cancer can be a lifesaving decision. The UCLA Health Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant & Cellular Therapies Program is part of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. Our cancer program includes deep clinical expertise across the board to support patients who have life-threatening disease of the blood and bone marrow. Using the most advanced therapies and transplant techniques, we can offer your best chance at recovery.

Our team understands that the time before and after bone marrow transplant can be scary and overwhelming. We are here to support you every step of the way — from diagnosis through treatment, transplant and recovery.

Why choose UCLA Health?

Putting your health in the right hands is always important. It is even more essential when you have a complex blood cancer or bone marrow disorder (hematologic malignancy). When you choose UCLA Health, you can expect:

• Pioneering therapies: Our Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant & Cellular Therapies Program performed one of the first successful transplants in 1968 and has cared for patients continuously since 1973. To date, we have treated more than 5,000 adults and children. Here, researchers and clinical physicians work together to put the latest research into practice, so you receive the most up-to-date therapies available. In addition, we are one of the first centers certified to treat both diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) with the newly Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved CAR T-cell therapies. Read more about CAR T-cell therapy.
• Clinical trial opportunities: UCLA Health is a leading academic medical center. Our patients have access to clinical trials in all areas of blood and marrow cancer and bone marrow treatment.
• Team approach: Our adult and pediatric bone marrow transplant teams work together to formulate individualized care plans for every patient. Your care team will consist of experts across a wide range of disciplines, including oncology, hematology, immunology and infectious diseases. Meet our team >
• Seamless care: Unlike many hospitals and health systems, a single program at UCLA Health diagnoses and manages cancer and provides bone marrow transplant. Your care providers will work together, and patients can enter our program at any point in the disease. Learn more about our approach to adult bone marrow transplant or pediatric bone marrow transplant.
• Convenient outpatient locations: We deliver inpatient treatment at our hospitals for people who need round-the-clock care. We also perform transplants at the UCLA Outpatient Stem Cell Transplantation clinic, adjacent to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. At the clinic, you receive hospital-level care in a convenient outpatient setting, an approach that improves your quality of life during the transplant and recovery process. For our adult patients, we provide some autologous transplants or reduced-intensity allogenic transplants on an outpatient basis.
• Access for all: Our world-class cancer treatment center offers access to care for life-threatening malignancies to all patients, regardless of socioeconomic status or language.

Bone marrow transplant in LA: Our services

UCLA Health’s Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant & Cellular Therapies Program offers a wide variety of cell therapies, including:

• Autologous stem cell transplant: We use stem cells harvested from your own blood or bone marrow as a source to rebuild new blood cells. We use this type of transplant after high-intensity chemotherapy, radiation treatment or both. These treatments aim to put the cancer into remission.
• Allogeneic stem cell transplant: This type of blood or marrow transplant uses stem cells from a related or unrelated blood or marrow donor. The donated cells are the source of a new immune system intended to further fight cancer.
• Cord blood transplant: UCLA Health was one of the original participants in the landmark COBALT study that helped establish the use of umbilical cord blood as a source of stem cells for bone marrow transplant. Parents can choose to donate their newborn’s umbilical cord blood to a public cord blood bank. The stem cells from that cord blood are available immediately to anyone who needs a stem cell transplant. This option is especially useful for patients who don’t have a relative who is a close enough match to be a bone marrow donor.
• Reduced-intensity transplant: People who are older or have medical complications may receive a reduced dose of conditioning (chemotherapy or radiation) before bone marrow transplant.
• CAR T-cell therapy: CAR T-cells are genetically altered immune cells designed to attack cancer cells. This immunotherapy treatment can treat adults with certain types of lymphoma and children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The team at UCLA Health participated in clinical trials that helped prove the effectiveness of CAR T-cell therapy. Learn more about CAR T-cell therapy.
• Gene therapy: UCLA Health is a leader in the use of gene therapy to treat inherited disorders, such as sickle cell and adrenal diseases. This treatment corrects the altered gene (gene that causes the condition) before returning it to your body via an autologous stem cell graft.

Contact us

To make an appointment with our Adult Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant & Cellular Therapies Program, please call 310-206-6909.

To make an appointment with our Pediatric Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant & Cellular Therapies Program, please call 310-825-6708.