The Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital has once again received internationally recognized accreditation for hematopoietic cellular therapy by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapies (FACT).
By demonstrating compliance with the FACT-JACIE International Standards for Cellular Therapy Product Collection, Processing and Administration, Nicklaus Children’s has once again earned FACT Accreditation for pediatric allogenic and autologous hematopoietic progenitor cellular therapy, immune effector cellular therapy, marrow cellular therapy product collection and peripheral blood cellular therapy product collection. FACT-JACIE Standards are established by leading experts based on the latest knowledge of the field of cellular therapy transplantation. Nicklaus Children’s has been found to be in compliance with these rigorous Standards as well as governmental regulations.
The Blood and Marrow Transplant Program (BMT) at Nicklaus Children’s is South Florida’s first care provider for children requiring a blood or bone marrow transplantation. Established in 1991, the program was originally accredited in 2003 by FACT for all aspects of blood or marrow transplantation. The program continues to meet the stringent FACT standards, having achieved its most recent reaccreditation this May.
“We are honored to achieve FACT accreditation, a necessary qualification and assertion of standards and quality in the field of cellular therapy,” said Dr. Kamar Godder, Medical Director of the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. “This distinction is a testament to our ongoing commitment to provide the best possible care to the patients and families we serve,” she said.
“We are pleased that Nicklaus Children’s Hospital has met the requirements of the Foundation and has been granted accreditation for Hematopoietic Cellular Therapy, said Dr. Phyllis Warkentin, FACT’s Chief Medical Officer.
The Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at Nicklaus Children's is a Children’s Oncology Group (COG) accredited center for transplants and is a member of the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Consortium (PBMTC) and the International Blood and Marrow Transplant Registry (IBMTR).
About FACT
In December 1994, the International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) and the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (ASBMT) merged their Standards into a single document covering all aspects of hematopoietic cell therapy (collection, processing, and transplantation). The two societies established FACT in order to develop a voluntary Inspection and Accreditation Program based on the joint Standards. FACT promotes quality medical and laboratory practice of cellular therapy through its peer-developed standards and voluntary inspection and accreditation program. In 2006, FACT, in collaboration with the Joint Accreditation Committee–ISCT & EBMT (JACIE), developed international standards in the field of cellular therapy. JACIE was founded by the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) and the International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT), the two leading scientific organizations involved with cellular transplantation in Europe. Since 2007, FACT accreditation has been used in determining the U.S. News & World Report rankings of transplant centers for the "America's Best Hospitals" and "America's Best Children's Hospitals" list.