The Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at the Department of Medicine I at the Medical University of Vienna (University Hospital Vienna) currently employs around 50 people. It is one of the most highly regarded institutions of its kind anywhere in the world.
Procedures that achieve high cure rates, bone marrow and blood stem cell transplantations are today an established form of treatment for many patients with haemato-oncological diseases (tumours, leukaemia, etc). Improvements in supportive therapies, tissue typing (a method used for better donor selection) and immunosuppression, as well as the switch from bone marrow to blood stem cell donation, have come together to make a decisive contribution to improving outcomes following stem cell transplantation (SCT) in recent years.
Two different terms are commonly used, depending on where the stem cells are collected from: bone marrow transplantation or BMT (i.e. when stem cells are obtained by puncturing the bone marrow) and blood stem cell transplantation (where stem cells are harvested from the peripheral blood). Depending on the individual donor of the stem cells, a further distinction is also made between autologous SCT (cells obtained from the patient themselves before they are subjected to high-dose therapy) and allogeneic SCT (donors within the family who are tissue-characteristic matches, as well as unrelated donors; and haploidentical family donation).
The BMT Unit at the Department of Medicine I at the Medical University of Vienna (University Hospital Vienna) has been an accredited member of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) for many years and is authorised to carry out cell therapies (stem cell and CAR-T cell therapies).
It is certified in accordance with ISO 9001:2015. Compliance with the strictest quality regulations is an important aspect of this certification.
Research is an essential part of the work conducted by the Department of Medicine I at the Medical University of Vienna. Besides helping to improve the chances of recovery for the patient, it also serves to improve treatment tolerability as well as quality of life after they are discharged from hospital.
History
The first allogeneic bone marrow transplantation at University Hospital Vienna was performed in 1978. The first autologous BMT was carried out in 1983, followed by the first BMT involving a non-related donor in 1994 and the first allogeneic BMT with dose-reduced conditioning in 1999. The first umbilical cord transplant was performed at the Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit in the summer of 2009, and the first haploidentical transplant followed in 2017.
The number of transplants performed at the Unit increased dramatically after the opening of a dedicated BMT ward in 1992. Capacity was again expanded considerably in 1995 following the inauguration of a dedicated CMT follow-up ward. Today, over 120 transplants are successfully performed each year.
The Department of Medicine I’s two Bone Marrow Transplant Unit wards at University Hospital Vienna were opened at the start of September 2008. They are located on the 21st floor of the Red Ward Tower (Ward 21J). The facility provides BMT patients with bright, friendly rooms as well as optimal working conditions for staff. Capacity in the BMT bed ward was also expanded to include a day clinic.
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Our donation account:
Account holder: Medical University of Vienna
Bank: Erste Bank
IBAN: AT36 2011 1404 1007 0700
BIC/SWIFT: GIBAATWW
Reason for payment: KMT Spende UE 711 010 01