Atlanta Blood Services Announces a New Blood Donation Appreciation Initiative
We are excited to announce a new program, Thank the Donor™ that provides a way for patients, family members, friends and/or caregivers to send anonymous messages directly to blood donors through a website, thankthedonor.org, to show their appreciation.
All messages are anonymous, easy, and compliant with medical privacy laws. Data shows that donors who receive Thank the DonorTM messages from their recipients are more likely to return to donate. This is of critical importance as we face local and national shortages.
For additional information, please call Atlanta Blood Services, 404.459.8744, or view Atlanta Blood Services Introduces Thank the Donor™.
The Immunotherapy Program at Northside Hospital Cancer Institute has been an authorized CAR T-cell treatment center since 2018. We now offer all four FDA-approved CAR T-cell products for B-cell malignancies.
- Breyanzi®, Yescarta® and Kymriah® for patients with R/R large B-cell lymphomas including transformed follicular lymphoma
- Tecartus® for patients with R/R mantle cell lymphoma
- Yescarta® for patients with R/R follicular lymphoma
- Kymriah® for patients with R/R B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Referring patients early can assist in optimal treatment planning due to varying product manufacturing times, which can take between 2-4 weeks.
For more detailed CAR T-cell NHL product information, please click here.
Please call 404-255-1930 to initiate a referral or to speak to a physician.
CIBMTR Recognizes and Congratulates the BMT Program’s Data Department
During the recent 2021 CIBMTR Tandem meetings, the BMT Program’s data management department and supervisor, Katie Jackson, BS, CCRC, program data supervisor, were recognized as one of the nation’s 2020 top performing transplant centers with a 0.6% to 1.0% critical field error rate. No other adult transplant program in the nation achieved these results.The Program’s auditing/training procedures were also recognized.
Katie also was a co-presenter for the Tandem Meeting session, HCT Product & Infusion. Click here to review presentation. We congratulate the entire Northside BMT data management team.
National Leaders in Allogeneic Transplantation
*For the twelfth consecutive year (2009-2020) NH-BMT achieved survival outcomes that significantly exceeded the expected range as reported in the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research Final 2019 Transplant Center Specific Survival Report, December 14, 2020 and from reported outcome data from Be The Match®. There were 172 adult and pediatric transplant centers included in the analysis. This survival information includes only patients who received their first allogeneic transplant between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2018 using unrelated or related donors and who had reported follow-up. Specific transplant center information can be found at bethematch.org.
The Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT) Program at Northside Hospital is the ONLY adult BMT program in the United States that achieved one year Allogeneic transplant survival outcomes that significantly exceeded their expected survival rate for the last 12 consecutive reporting cycles, is the largest Allogenic program in Georgia, and the only transplant center in Georgia to exceed survival outcomes. The one-year survival of Allogeneic patients transplanted at Northside was 80.8%.*
For additional information, click Survival Data.
Frankly Speaking About Multiple Myeloma, a Virtual Workshop, Presented by the Cancer Support Community Atlanta
On March 24, 2021, from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m., Dr. Asad Bashey will present an overview of Multiple Myeloma. This program will explore the process of diagnosing multiple myeloma and the treatment options available. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions during the live event.
Click Here to Register.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the program.
We Congratulate Katherine Welsh on her Five Year Leukemia/BMT Anniversary
and her Son Michael’s Fifth Birthday
To read more of Katherine and her son’s amazing journey, please Click here.
2020 Castle Connolly Top Doctor Awards
We are proud to announce our five BMTGA physicians were selected as 2020 Castle Connolly Top Doctor recipients and were recently featured in the New York Times. We congratulate our dedicated physicians.
View the full Awards here
Northside Hospital Cancer Institute’s Cancer Care 2021 Winter Edition Newsletter Features BMT Program Clinical Research Publications and 2020 Multiple Myeloma Symposium
Click here to download the full newsletter
Northside Hospital urging recent COVID survivors to donate plasma.
Click here to watch this news story.
Urgent Need for Newly Recovered Covid-19 Volunteers to Donate Convalescent Plasma
Click here to watch this news story.
Dr. Solomon’s Publication, Optimal Donor for African Americans with Hematologic Malignancy: HLA-Haploidentical Relative or Umbilical Cord Blood Transplant, is Highlighted in the Consumer Advocacy Committee of the CIBMTR® Recent Publication.
This study was one of only three selected this quarter by the CIBMTR’s Consumer Advocacy Committee. CIBMTR® is a research collaboration between the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP)/Be The Match® and the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Click here to read article or visit the CIBMTR’s social media posts by clicking on the below icons:
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We Thank Dr. Lonnie Herzog and Family for Donating Convalescent Plasma
Dr. Lonnie Herzog is an Internal Medicine physician in Atlanta, GA. He has spent over 30 years treating patients with Primary Care Physicians of Atlanta at Northside Hospital. Now, he is not only using his experience and training to save lives, he is using what is inside him.
The plasma collected by Atlanta Blood Services (ABS) is being used for patients at Northside Hospital, which is another reason it was important for Dr. Herzog to donate with ABS. “We went through being sick as a family. We can donate and help other’s as a family. The patients at Northside have always been part of our family.”
To read Dr. Herzog and his family’s story, please click here.
Advances in Immunotherapy for Cancer: Novel Phase I Clinical Research Trial Open for Enrollment
Covid-19 Patient Recovers with Convalescent Plasma Infusion at Northside Hospital
Steve Feldman fell ill with Covid-19 and received an infusion with convalescent plasma from a person who recovered from Covid-19. Steve spoke with Atlanta’s CBS46 to thank the Northside Hospital staff and Atlanta Blood Services for their outstanding medical care during his recent Covid-19 hospitalization.
Please read Insight Magazine’s, an Industry periodical directed to the Awards and Personalization Industries, article describing Steve’s COVID-19 journey.
Plasma therapy could be ‘liquid gold’ for COVID-19 treatment
Domenico Piccininni is alive. It shouldn’t be taken lightly. The 50-year-old DeKalb County resident’s health was in question several weeks ago. He had COVID-19.
About two weeks ago, Piccininni walked into Northside Hospital to give some of his blood plasma for researchers to use as potential treatment for COVID-19 patients. The donation is his opportunity to help.
To learn more visit the AJC website for the full story.
Dr. Kent Holland and a COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Donor Interviewed by HealthDay, an E-Publication
Domenico Piccininni is one of the hundreds of thousands of people who have had a COVID-19 infection and recovered after a bit of misery, but with no lasting complications. What sets him apart from many other survivors is that Piccininni is trying to help people who now have more severe COVID-19 infections.
To learn more visit the Health Day website for the full story.
COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Donor Appears in a Recent New York Times Article
Meg Chamberlin, who lives in New York City, traveled to Atlanta Blood Services (ABS) to donate COVID-19 convalescent plasma.
Her experience was featured in a recent New York Times article, Will You Help Save My Brother?: The Scramble to Find Covid-19 Plasma Donors.
We thank Meg, and all COVID-19 convalescent plasma donors, who are making a difference for patients who are battling COVID-19.
Please view Meg’s COVID-19 convalescent donor plasma experience.
Dr. Kent Holland Appears on Atlanta’s WABE’s Closer Look with Rose Scott to Discuss Blood Donation During COVID-19
Blood donation collection centers in right here in Georgia and across the nation are urging healthy people to donate blood.
Dr. H. Kent Holland is a Northside Hospital Leukemia Program physician. He also serves as the Medical Director of Atlanta Blood Services and Medical Director of the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at Northside Hospital. He joined “Closer Look” to discuss the critical need for blood donation products during the COVID-19 pandemic.
To listen to the full audio of the show, please click here.
Atlanta Fox 5 Interviews Dr. Kent Holland
New COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Treatment
On Atlanta’s Fox 5, Dr. Holland explains how donated plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients may help newly infected COVID-19 patients recover quickly. Dr. Holland explains when someone is infected with a virus like COVID-19, patients produce antibodies that can neutralize the virus.
In collaboration with the Georgia Department of Public Health, Dr. Holland and the Northside BMT team is setting up a system to collect plasma from COVID-19 survivors and then their plasma will be infused into patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Donating plasma is similar to donating blood and one donation of plasma could help two or three newly infected patients.
To watch the clip from the show, please click here.
Dr. Melhem Solh’s Leukemia Clinical Research Study, Treatment With FLAG+ / -Ida Induction Regimen May Result In Better Outcomes For Patients With NCCN AML Compared With 7+3, Analysis Indicates was E-Published in the March 5, 2020 Edition of the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s (ASCO) Cancer in the News.
Cancer Therapy Advisor (3/4, Bennett) reports “patents with non-favorable National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) risk acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) had better outcomes when treated with FLAG+ / -Ida (fludarabine, high dose cytarabine and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor with or without idarubicin) as the induction regimen compared with 7+3 (cytarabine + anthracycline), showed a retrospective analysis recently published in Leukemia Research.” The analysis showed “that a significantly higher proportion of patients who received FLAG+ / -Ida went into remission after 1 induction course compared with 7+3.” Moreover, “clinical outcomes were also better for patients who received FLAG+ / -Ida, with these patients having significantly higher 3-year overall survival...and disease-free survival rates...after remission compared with 7+3.”
Cancer in the News is written and distributed by the editors of BulletinHealthcare.
Northside BMT Presents at the September 7, 2019 Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Annual Georgia Blood Cancer Conference
Over three hundred attendees participated in this free educational conference for patients, survivors and health care professionals. Dr. Melhem Solh presented an overview of state-of-the-art multiple myeloma treatments and Connie Sizemore, Pharm.D, Lead Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, spoke about Transplant Survivorship.
The Blood and Cancer Conference (BBC) is one of many programs developed by the Leukemia Lymphoma Society (LLS) to meet the needs of people who deal with blood cancer every day and for the people that care for them.
Keith Guernsey Appears on Eleven Alive’s Morning Rush
Our NH BMT patient, Keith Guernsey, who received an autologous transplant for Multiple Myeloma, was featured on a recent Eleven Alive Morning Rush TV broadcast. Keith spoke of his appreciation and gratitude to the NSH and BMTGA doctors and nurses who cared for him during and after his transplant.
Keith is also a MyelomaCrowd, www.myelomacrowd.org, coach. His story, How a Cancer Diagnosis Saved His Life can be viewed here.
Keith and Susan are honored to announce a joint promotion with the American Cancer Society where they will be donating 25 cents/copy for any of our books (including our newest "Overcoming the Odds") ordered between 8/26/2020 and 10/31/2020 to this wonderful organization.
Advances in Immunotherapy for Cancer: Novel Phase I Clinical Research Trial Open for Enrollment
Peer Reviewed Article: Early Referral to a Combined Leukemia/Transplant Program Improves Outcomes for Older Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Patients
A recent publication in the journal Blood and Marrow Transplant by Dr. Scott Solomon and colleagues provides data that shows there is a direct survival benefit when older patients are referred at the time of diagnosis to a leukemia/BMT program for evaluation and treatment.
To read journal article and synopsis, please click here.
2019 Northside BMT Program Survivor Reunion
On October 12, 2019, 600 survivors, caregivers, physicians and staff members attended the 2019 Northside Survival Reunion held at the Mercedes Benz Stadium.
Please view our Survivor Reunion video.
Northside BMT/Leukemia/Immunotherapy Unit Nurses Brings the Sounds of the Backstreet Boys to Patient
Recently, a group of Northside nurses came together to put on an impromptu Backstreet Boys concert for a patient who was forced to miss their reunion concert after being diagnosed with cancer.
Amanda Coley had been looking forward to attending the concert on Aug. 21 with her sister, Maggie Mayes Kingston. But two weeks before the concert, Amanda, a 36-year-old mom of four, found out she had leukemia. She and her sister have been fans of the Backstreet Boys since they were 14 years old.
Amanda's sister knew she would have to miss the concert, and she was able to gather close to a dozen staff members to help surprise her. They all gathered in Amanda's room and sang a few hit songs like "I Want It That Way" and "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)."
If you would like to read the entire story, please click here.
Light the Night Virtual 2020 Campaign
Donate Now
Light The Night is a series of fundraising campaigns benefiting The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) funding of research to find blood cancer cures. Please watch our leukemia clinical coordinator, Taylor Schrek, RN, describe her role in coordinating care for patients diagnosed with leukemia and other blood cancers.
To donate, please visit https://www.lightthenight.org/events/atlanta
Updated 2017 Referral Guidelines: Recommended Timing For Transplant Consultation
Disease stage at the time of transplant can have a significant impact on patient survival [1] appropriate planning and early donor identification are critical for optimal outcomes.
The 2017 referral timing guidelines were developed jointly by the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP) /Be The Match® and the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (ASBMT) and are based on current clinical practice, medical literature, and evidence-based reviews. [1,2]
The guidelines highlight disease categories that include patients at risk for disease progression, who should be referred for consultation for autologous or allogeneic HCT.[3]
If you have questions as to when to refer a patient for initial transplant consult, please call 404-255-1930 and ask to speak to one of our transplant physicians.
- Lee, SJ, Klein J, Haagenson M, et al. High-resolution donor-recipient HLA matching contributes to the success of unrelated donor marrow transplantation. Blood. 2007;110(13): 4576-4583. Access
- Pidala J, Lee SJ, Ahn KW, et al. Nonpermissive HLA-DPB1 mismatch increases mortality after myeloablative unrelated allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Blood. 2014:124(16):2596-2606. Access
- NMDP/Be The Match & ASBMT Recommended Timing for Transplant Consultation, 2017. Download (PDF)