The stem cell service at the Great Western Hospital has been awarded an important international accreditation which is needed to provide stem cell transplants.
Without this patients would need to travel to Bristol or Oxford for treatment.
Up to 20 patients a year, with blood cancers such as lymphoma and multiple myeloma, receive stem cell transplants at GWH.
This is the second time we’ve received the accreditation which must be renewed every four years, with standards getting tougher each time.
The achievement follows an inspection by the Joint Accreditation Committee-ISCT & EBMT (JACIE), the internationally recognised system which provides assurance of high quality patient care and laboratory performance in haematopoietic stem cell collection.
Without the accreditation patients would need to travel to Bristol or Oxford for treatment.
The Trust is the 10th centre in the UK to be accredited under the new 6th Edition Standards which are extremely high.
For further information about stem cell transplants visit NHS Choices > Stem cell and bone marrow transplants – What happens.
