The Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) [http://www.cibmtr.org] is a new research program that unites and builds on the strengths of two leaders in the field of blood and marrow transplantation:

• The National Marrow Donor Program^® and
• The International Bone Marrow Transplant Registry and Autologous Blood and Marrow Transplant Registry

The partnership will make it easier to conduct clinical studies that involve many patients from multiple transplant centers. The program will bring together the world's leading authorities to answer the most important questions in marrow and blood cell transplantation. The partnership went into effect July 1, 2004.

The program will focus on the following activities:

• Prospective multi-center trials to improve transplant outcomes
• Retrospective studies using the world's largest blood and marrow transplant databases and tissue sample repositories
• Research in immunobiology
• Biostatistics expertise to help researchers interpret and present their data

This program will create the opportunity to make significant advances in the science of blood and marrow transplantation by making the most effective use of combined resources and expertise to improve outcomes and expand applications to help more patients live longer, healthier lives.