MetroHealth this month launched a blood and marrow transplant program for patients who may have had trouble meeting transplant requirements at other hospital transplant programs due to socioeconomic and other barriers.
Dr. Tamila Kindwall-Keller, the medical director of the new stem cell transplant program, said the hope is to help patients primarily from the underserved and underrepresented populations in Cleveland.
“When they get referred to other transplant programs, in which there are two other transplant programs in Cleveland, [patients] often get turned away or declined for transplant due to their social determinants of health," she said.
People with low incomes often face barriers like lack of reliable transportation, access to healthy food or strong support networks, according to MetroHealth. Those barriers can prevent them from receiving care.
MetroHealth provides free transportation for people who need help getting to their appointments and is looking to build housing for patients, Kindwall-Keller said.
Patients may also work with a nurse who can help them navigate the transplant program, said Bernadette McQuigg, the director of MetroHealth’s cellular therapy program.
“We actually have a patient [that has had] … just a lot of struggles to get to this point, had some pain control and has canceled appointments at the last minute,” she said. “So our nurse coordinator has been really working with him very closely and other departments to reschedule the appointments, provide him reassurance and education to get him the right appointments so he can meet the course deadline to be able to prepare for this transplant.”
Transplants can cure blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma, which is why it's so important all eligible patients have a shot at getting them, said Kindwall-Keller.
“If they don't have access to this, they're likely to succumb to their cancer,” she said. “The transplants are a way to extend life, expand expectancy and also give patients a longer period of time in which they're not having to deal with their cancer."
