Authors' objectives:

To determine whether mismatched related donor (MMRD) and matched unrelated donor (MUD) bone marrow transplantation (BMT) should be funded at a limited number of centres under a national program.

Authors' results and conclusions: National caseload is 25 to 60 MMRD BMTs and 100 to 200 MUD BMTs annually. Despite high mortality and morbidity rates, MUD BMT offers the possibility of a longer life to patients with terminal disease. The technology is evolving, and in the future better outcomes might be possible. MMRD BMT is adjunctive to matched related donor BMT.

Authors' recommendations: MMRD and MUD BMT should not be limited to one or two centres in Australia. Inequalities in reimbursement of fees for donor searches needs consideration, where successful searches are able to be reimbursed from discretionary funds but unsuccessful searches are not. MUD BMT is a new technology with limited data available about outcomes and effectiveness relative to alternatives. To ensure the provision of high quality services, the Australian Bone Marrow Transplantation Co-operative Study Group should formally determine minimum standards for MUD BMT, and centres performing such transplants should meet these standards. A national database should be established to provide information for research and for quality assurance. National protocols and guidelines would need to be developed for this. Standard policies should be implemented in and national linkages established between tissue typing laboratories, to assist in research.

Project Status: Completed

URL for project: http://www.msac.gov.au/

Year Published: 1992

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: Australia

Organisation Name: Australian Health Technology Advisory Committee

Contact Address: Naarilla Hirsch, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Health Technology Unit, GPO Box 570, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia

Copyright: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare