How to Understand NMDP Transplant Center Statistics

When you are choosing a transplant center for a bone marrow or cord blood transplant, you may want to compare the survival statistics at different centers. The National Marrow Donor Program^® (NMDP) network transplant center listings can help you compare survival rates at all NMDP U.S. transplant centers.

Because statistics can be hard to understand, we recommend you discuss them with your doctor. Keep in mind that these statistics may address some — but not all — of the factors that are important to consider when selecting a transplant center.

Use the Getting Started Worksheet (PDF) to help you read individual transplant center listings.

The center-specific analysis

Each U.S. NMDP transplant center's online listing includes a section labeled Center-Specific Analysis. This analysis includes:

• Only patients who received their transplants from Jan. 1, 2003, through Dec. 31, 2007.
• Bone marrow, peripheral blood cell (PBSC) and cord blood transplant outcomes through one year after transplant.
• Only transplants that used unrelated donors from the

  Be The Match Registry operated by the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP). Some centers may have done additional transplants using donors who were family members of the patient or from other registries.
  

The analysis considered many recipient-specific factors known to influence transplant survival, such as age, diagnosis, disease stage, general health, etc.  

Results shown in the Center-Specific Analysis section of each transplant center listing can help you compare the center's performance with that of other NMDP U.S. transplant centers. The results include three items specific to each center, which are explained below:

• Risk category (overall disease condition of patients)  
• Observed one-year survival 
• Predicted one-year survival

Center-specific analysis example

View larger version

Risk category (overall disease condition)

The risk category reflects the overall disease condition of patients and is a measure of patients' pre-transplant health characteristics that predict survival after transplantation. It does not indicate the risks of being treated at the center.

Each transplant center is placed in one of five equally-sized groups based on the overall risk category of patients treated at that center.

The risk categories, based on overall disease condition of treated patients, are measured on a scale from 1 (low risk) to 5 (high risk).

Observed one-year survival

The observed one-year survival rate (number 3 under Center-Specific Analysis) is based on all patients who received an unrelated donor transplant at the transplant center from Jan. 1, 2003, through Dec. 31, 2007. This number reflects the percentage of patients at this center who survived one year or more after transplant. The estimated national observed one-year survival was 56.3 percent in the 9,763 patients transplanted in the United States.

Predicted one-year survival

The predicted one-year survival rate (number 4 under Center-Specific Analysis) is adjusted for the mix of risk factors that can affect patient survival, such as HLA matching, recipient's age, disease and disease stage, and overall health before transplant.

The predicted one-year survival rate shows what the survival would be if the center's same patient population had their transplants at a transplant center with results equal to the national average.
 

Survival by patient diagnosis and age

For disease-specific information, look in the Survival by Patient's Age, Disease Type & Stage section of each center's listing. If your disease is listed, look at the column within your age range to find transplant and survival numbers for unrelated transplants facilitated by the NMDP.

The totals listed are for the period January 2003 through December 2007. These numbers include one year post-transplant follow-up (through December 2008).

For each transplant center, there are seven age categories:

• 0 - 10 years
• 11 - 17 years
• 18 - 30 years
• 31 - 40 years
• 41 - 50 years
• 51 - 60 years
• Over 60 years

Survival by patient diagnosis and age example

View larger version