Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter to the Editor
  • Published:

Differences in stem cell transplantation activity among regions in Spain: an economic explanation

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 51, pages 1537–1539 (2016)Cite this article

Subjects

On the basis of the current data published for 2013, more than 34 800 patients are now treated annually in Europe with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT),1 which is an increase of 50% over the last 10 years.2 Reports from the European Blood and Marrow Transplantation Group and the Centre for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Registry have illustrated that transplant rates differed substantially between countries.3 They have shown that, in part, the differences in transplant activity among European countries and worldwide are based on economic grounds. Transplant rates were higher in countries with higher gross national income or health-care expenditures per capita.4, 5, 6, 7 The positive relationship between transplant rates, team density and access to the therapeutic procedure have also been discussed.5, 6, 7, 8

There is a wide range of health-care organizational systems in Europe with important economic differences among them that could explain some of the differences between HSCT rates in European countries at the macro level.4, 5, 6, 7 However, it has not been investigated whether economic factors may also explain part of rates differences in HSCT found between regions of a particular country. This micro level scenario generally involves one organizational health-care system and economics and clinical differences should not be expected to cause different transplant rates between the regions in a country.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Passweg JR, Baldomero H, Bader P, Bonini C, Cesaro S, Dreger P et al. European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT). Hematopoietic SCT in Europe 2013: recent trends in the use of alternative donors showing more haploidentical donors but fewer cord blood transplants. Bone Marrow Transplant 2015; 50: 476–482.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Gratwohl A, Baldomero H, Passweg J . Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation activity in Europe. Curr Opin Hematol 2013; 20: 485–493.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Gratwohl A, Baldomero H, Horisberger B, Schmid C, Passweg J, Urbano-Ispizua A . Accreditation Committee of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT). Current trends in haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in Europe. Blood 2002; 100: 2374–2386.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Gratwohl A, Baldomero H, Aljurf M, Pasquini MC, Bouzas LF, Yoshimi A et al. Worldwide network of blood and marrow transplantation. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: a global perspective. JAMA 2010; 303: 1617–1624.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Gratwohl A, Passweg J, Baldomero H, Horisberger B, Urbano-Ispizua A . Accreditation Committee of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT). Economics, health care systems and utilisation of haematopoietic stem cell transplants in Europe. Br J Haematol 2002; 117: 451–468.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Gratwohl A, Baldomero H, Frauendorfer K, Niederwieser D . Joint Accreditation Committee of the International Society for Cellular Therapy ISCT; European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation EMBT (JACIE). Why are there regional differences in stem cell transplantation activity? An EBMT analysis. Bone Marrow Transplant 2008; 42 Suppl 1 S7–S10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Gratwohl A, Baldomero H, Schwendener A, Gratwohl M, Apperley J, Frauendorfer K et al. The EBMT activity survey 2008 impact of team size, team density and new trends. Bone Marrow Transplant 2011; 46: 174–191.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Passweg JR, Baldomero H, Bregni M, Cesaro S, Dreger P, Duarte RF et al. European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT). Hematopoietic SCT in Europe: data and trends in 2011. Bone Marrow Transplant 2013; 48: 1161–1167.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Organización Nacional de Trasplantes (eds). Trasplante de Progenitores Hematopoyéticos, 2010. Memoria de Actividad. [Accessed 30 December 2014]. Available in http://www.ont.es/infesp/Memorias/Forms/AllItems.aspx.

  10. Organización Nacional de Trasplantes (eds). Trasplante de Progenitores Hematopoyéticos, 2011. Memoria de Actividad. [Accessed 30 December 2014]. Available in http://www.ont.es/infesp/Memorias/Forms/AllItems.aspx.

  11. Organización Nacional de Trasplantes (eds). Trasplante de Progenitores Hematopoyéticos, 2012. Memoria de Actividad. [Accessed 30 December 2014]. Available in http://www.ont.es/infesp/Memorias/Forms/AllItems.aspx.

  12. Instituto Nacional de Estadística. Contabilidad Nacional de España. Base 2008. [Accessed 30 December 2014] Available in http://www.ine.es.

  13. Instituto Nacional de Estadística. Padrón. Población por municipios. [Accessed 30 December 2014] Available in http://www.ine.es.

  14. Ministerio de Sanidad, Servicios Sociales e Igualdad. Estadística de Gasto Sanitario Público. Serie 2002-2012. [Accessed 30 December 2014] Available in: http://www.msssi.gob.es/estadEstudios/estadisticas/inforRecopilaciones/gastoSanitario2005/home.htm.

  15. Baltagi BH . Econometric Analysis of Panel Data, 4th edn. John Wiley & Sons: Chichester, UK, 2008.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We want to acknowledge the Spanish ONT and GETH for their effort in providing the annual activity statistics of stem cell transplantation.

Author contributions

EI and O-OM performed and designed the research. O-OM and M-GR analyzed and interpreted the data. M-MFJ and R-TN contributed the data for the study. All the authors contributed in writing the paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Haematology, Institute of Biomedicine of Seville, University Hospital Virgen del Rocío, University of Seville, Seville, Spain

    I Espigado

  2. Department of Applied Economics, University of Granada, Granada, Spain

    M Ortega-Ortega & R Montero-Granados

  3. Department of Haematology, University Hospital Virgen del Rocío, Seville, Spain

    N Rodriguez-Torres & F J Márquez-Malaver

Authors
  1. I Espigado
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M Ortega-Ortega
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. R Montero-Granados
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. N Rodriguez-Torres
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. F J Márquez-Malaver
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M Ortega-Ortega.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Supplementary Information accompanies this paper on Bone Marrow Transplantation website

Supplementary information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Espigado, I., Ortega-Ortega, M., Montero-Granados, R. et al. Differences in stem cell transplantation activity among regions in Spain: an economic explanation. Bone Marrow Transplant 51, 1537–1539 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/bmt.2016.177

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/bmt.2016.177

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links