Costs of Your Child's Transplant

A bone marrow or cord blood transplant (also called a BMT) is expensive. As you prepare for your child's transplant, you will need to plan for costs as well.

Your transplant center can help you find support resources. You can also turn to the case managers at the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Office of Patient Advocacy. Case managers can help you with insurance questions and coverage issues. They can also connect you to other resources: Contact the NMDP Office of Patient Advocacy by phone or e-mail.

To plan for transplant costs, you may want to: 

• Learn about your health insurance coverage. Find out what transplant costs your health plan will cover and what it will not.
• Use Mapping the Maze: A Personal Insurance and Financial Guide to Marrow and Cord Blood Transplant to make a financial plan.
• Ask your transplant center about The Marrow Foundation^® Patient Assistance Program.
• Look into other organizations that offer financial help for pediatric patients.
• Plan fundraising or ask others to do so for you.
• Talk to your employer about time away from work to care for your child, if needed. Ask about taking an extended leave (Family Medical Leave Act — FMLA), job security and keeping your health insurance and other benefits.

In the United States, you may qualify for federal programs such as supplemental security income (SSI) or state programs such as Medicaid. Your transplant center or a case manager in the NMDP Office of Patient Advocacy can help you learn about these programs and how to apply. You can also visit these government Web sites: 

• For information on the U.S. supplemental security income (SSI) program, visit www.ssa.gov.
• For information on Medicaid, find a link to your state at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/medicaid/statemap.asp.