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Histocompatibility and Donor Selection Issues

Geographic access to hematopoietic cell transplantation services in the United States

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 51, pages 241–248 (2016)Cite this article

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Abstract

The use of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) has risen in recent years and additional increases are projected in the near- and long-term future. The complex nature of HCT, along with its potentially rigorous follow-up care requirements, presents numerous potential barriers to accessing this important service (for example, financial considerations, donor availability and sociodemographic factors). The distance between a patient and an HCT facility also appears to be an important factor in both HCT use and outcomes. We provide the first comprehensive and detailed evaluation of geographic access to HCT services for the adult (18+ years) and pediatric (0–17 years) populations in the United States. Population-level access is examined as well as detailed gender, race/ethnicity and age breakdowns. Generally, access to HCT services appears to be quite high throughout the United States, as 48%, 78.6% and 94.7% of the 18+ years age population has 30, 90 and 180 min access (respectively) to an adult HCT facility and 42.5%, 72% and 91.5% of the 0–17 years age population has 30, 90 and 180 min access (respectively) to a pediatric facility.

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Acknowledgements

We thank John Kelly for his assistance with the collecting and consolidating the HCT facility data. PLD received financial support for this research from the Michigan Department of Community Health, Certificate of Need Section. The funding source had no role in the research design, dissemination of the results or decision to publish the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography and Geoinformation Science, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA,

    P L Delamater

  2. Department of Oncology, Wayne State University, Karmanos Cancer Center, Detroit, MI, USA,

    J P Uberti

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  1. P L Delamater
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  2. J P Uberti
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Correspondence to P L Delamater.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest

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Supplementary Information accompanies this paper on Bone Marrow Transplantation website

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Delamater, P., Uberti, J. Geographic access to hematopoietic cell transplantation services in the United States. Bone Marrow Transplant 51, 241–248 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/bmt.2015.246

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