Guidelines for Clinical Centers

Staff

Consulting Physicians

Each transplant program should have available board-eligible or -certified consulting physicians from key disciplines (some of which are listed below) who are capable of assisting in the management of patients requiring intensive medical or pediatric care - especially, but not exclusively, the following: pulmonary medicine, gastroenterology, nephrology, infectious disease (with experience in the care of immunocompromised hosts), cardiology, psychiatry (for psychosocial evaluation), and radiation oncology experience in wide-field (e.g., total-body and total-lymphoid) irradiation.

Nurses

Transplant programs should have a formally trained and experienced nursing staff (including staff with supervisory experience) for the management of patients receiving hematopoietic transplants. Training should include hematology/oncology patient care, administration of cytotoxic therapies, management of infectious complications associated with compromised host-defense mechanisms, administration of blood components, and an appropriate degree of intensive medical/pediatric nursing care.

Other Staff

Each program should have appropriate staff available to maintain supportservices, as follows:

1. Transplant coordinator(s) to provide efficient pre-transplant patient evaluation and coordinate treatment and post-transplant follow-up and care.
2. Pharmaceutical staff to promote appropriate safe utilization and management of pharmaceuticals.
3. Dietary staff capable of providing dietary consultations regarding patients' nutritional status, including total parenteral nutrition.
4. Designated social services staff.
5. Designated physical therapy staff.
6. Data management personnel sufficient to ensure goals listed in the "Data Management" section, below.