Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego operates the only pediatric blood and marrow transplant (BMT) facility in San Diego and Imperial counties. The program has been in continuous operation since its inception in 1981, and more than 400 transplants have been performed.
Led by Eric Anderson, M.D., the program’s multidisciplinary team includes transplant physicians, nurse practitioners, nurse care coordinators, nurses, supportive care nurses, psychologists, social workers, child life specialists, dietitians, parent liaisons and team members of our Integrative Medicine Program. We provide comprehensive care and support for transplant patients throughout the transplant period and recovery process.
The stem cell transplant program performs autologous and allogeneic transplants, including umbilical cord blood transplantation. In 2004, the National Marrow Donor Program approved Rady Children’s as an unrelated donor transplant center. In the same year, the Hospital was approved by the Department of Health Services as a certified apheresis center to provide peripheral blood stem cell collection for transplantation.
In 2007, the program was granted certification by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) as the pediatric arm of UC San Diego Medical Center’s BMT Program. The joint program with UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center offers state-of-the-art stem cell processing capabilities, as well as collaborative conferences dedicated to ongoing review to ensure optimal quality care for our patients.
The program participates in a number of clinical trials through the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Consortium, Children’s Oncology Group, Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network, and in 2020, became a member of the Pediatric Immune Deficiency Treatment Consortium.
Team
Medical Director
Eric Anderson, M.D., Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, UC San Diego
Physicians
William Roberts, M.D., Director, Peckham Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders; Division Chief, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Rady Children’s and UC San Diego; Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, UC San Diego
Deborah Schiff, M.D, Medical Director, Palliative Care Program, Peckham Center; Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, UC San Diego
Nicholas Gloude, M.D., Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, UC San Diego
Nurse Practitioners
Elizabeth Sheldon, R.N., PCNS, CPHON, CPNP
Elizabeth Torok, R.N., M.S.N., CPNP
Nurse Coordinators
Cydele Cortez, B.S.N., R.N., CPON
Catherine King, R.N., M.H.S., CPON, MT(ASCP)
Jessica Barsom, B.S.N., R.N., CPHON