Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, part of Miami Children’s Health System, is South Florida’s first and most experienced provider of blood and marrow transplantation in children. The team’s dedication to children and their families has led to outcomes that are among the best in the region as reported by the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP).
Established in 1991, the BMT program has provided transplantation to more than 300 patients. The program is part of the hospital’s Cancer Center, which
provides care for more pediatric patients with cancers, leukemia and blood disorders than any other facility in South Florida. Nicklaus Children’s has the capability to conduct blood and marrow transplants from the patient’s own cells (an autologous transplant), as well as from blood or marrow from both related and unrelated donors (allogeneic transplant).
Dr. Kamar Godder, Director of the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, says “We strive to utilize the latest in available technology and research to provide the best possible outcomes for the children in our care. We are grateful to have an exemplary team that works together to cater to the specialized needs of our patients and their families.”
Dr. Godder is a pioneer in blood and marrow transplantation. She was one of the first in the region to perform transplant on a pediatric patient from two different donated umbilical cord units to make transplant possible. The technique has proven to be a successful alternative for patients who have not been able to find close enough matches in the national and international donor registries, and when one cord blood unit is insufficient for them. The technique has broadened the opportunities for patients with multicultural ethnicities to qualify for transplant.
The BMT program at Nicklaus Children’s has been accredited by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapies (FACT) for all aspects of blood or marrow transplantation since 2003 and gained reaccreditation most recently in 2013. The program’s certification with the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Consortium (PBMTC) enables access to the latest research protocols as well as national and international research data. The BMT program at Nicklaus Children’s is also part of the International Blood and Marrow Transplant Registry (IBMTR), which provides worldwide access to donated products.
