More than 400 guests gathered in the Rockefeller Research Laboratories on October 26 for the 11th annual Stem Cell Transplant Survivors Celebration. The event reunited nearly 175 survivors and their families with doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff.
"We're here as one family tonight to celebrate the success of our transplant program," remarked Stephen D. Nimer, Head of Memorial Sloan-Kettering's Division of Hematologic Oncology.
Richard J. O'Reilly, Chief of Memorial Sloan-Kettering's Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Service, observed that the service has performed more than 1,300 transplants to date, and Marcel R. van den Brink, Chief of the Adult BMT Service, discussed the Center's success in offering transplants to increasingly older adults. Dr. van den Brink also talked about the establishment of the Umbilical Cord Blood Transplantation Program and the opening of the new transplant floor. "This beautiful floor, with 25 rooms designed with input from patients and families, will make it easier for visitors to stay with loved ones undergoing transplantation," he said.
Finally, Memorial Sloan-Kettering transplant recipient Joanne Dayton noted, "In addition to celebrating survivors, we're celebrating Memorial Sloan-Kettering's medical team. They continue to give people new life."
