The HCT Unit

Abstract

Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is an advanced therapeutic intervention that is required for a number of malignant and nonmalignant medical conditions, often for critically ill patients. The establishment of an HCT program requires the efforts of experienced and appropriately trained personnel to lead the program. Clearly, this also requires financial, legal, ethical, and other institutional support. Without the commitment of the hospital director, allocation of resources, support of the national health authorities, and politicians, an HCT program will not be successful. For newly starting programs, it would be essential to identify minimal requirements for establishing an HCT unit in order to optimize resource utilization as well as maintain safe patient care. While these minimal requirements also apply to well-established units, its structure helps to understand and implement additional steps for larger units which plan to offer additional transplant services and have access to more resources. The recent advent of more cellular therapy types, including immune effector cell therapy, has added another layer of complexity necessitating additional requirements by HCT programs to ensure patient safety.