Protect Your Health After Transplant:
A New Guide for Survivors

It’s no surprise to anyone who has been through a transplant that the journey doesn’t end once you leave the hospital. Complications can be part of a survivor’s life for months and years after transplant. How do you know when a new problem is related to your transplant? How can you be sure that your local doctor is taking all the necessary steps to detect and prevent transplant-related complications down the road?

Now, A Guide to Protecting Your Health After Transplant: Recommended Tests and Procedures is a resource to help survivors do just that.

Developed by the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) Consumer Advocacy Committee, the guide outlines the specialized care required for transplant survivors long-term. The patient guide includes:

• Information about side effects that may occur months or years after transplant
• Charts with recommended tests and procedures for patients’ six-month, twelve-month and yearly post-transplant check-ups
• Space for your record keeping
• Information for patients to share with their physicians about the tests and procedures they will need after transplant

Two versions of the guide are available: one for survivors who had a transplant using their own stem cells and a second for survivors who were transplanted with donor bone marrow, stem cells, or cord blood.

The guidelines are based on published recommendations written by physicians who are members of three leading transplant organizations: the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research, the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation, and the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation.

“Every person who has been through a bone marrow, stem cell or cord blood transplant should have a copy of these guidelines,” says BMT InfoNet’s Sue Stewart, who co-chairs the committee that wrote the patient guidelines. “They need to be shared with every physician who cares for you after transplant, including your dentist.”

Survivors and their doctors can download a copy of the guidelines at cibmtr.org/PUBLICATIONS/guidelines.html. Those who do not have access to the Internet can order a hard copy of the brochure by calling 866-647-7750.

Letter from the Executive Director

Editor: Susan K. Stewart
Medical Advisors:
Teresa K. Woodruff, MD
Northwestern University Medical School

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Highland Park, IL 60035
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