New Resources from the NMDP
Office of Patient Advocacy

Online Financial Tool
The NMDP facilitates more than 3,600 unrelated bone marrow and cord blood transplants (BMT) each year. While this life-saving treatment is often the only treatment option or cure for people suffering from chronic and/or fatal diseases, transplant is an expensive and complex procedure. Furthermore, patients aren’t always aware of the additional expenses of BMT, such as relocation costs, co-payments, prescriptions, and childcare, until well into the transplant process. Often, patients and their families are left with the numerous additional costs long after the transplant.

To help patients plan for the additional expenses of BMT, the National Marrow Donor Program’s (NMDP) Office of Patient Advocacy created an online financial tool, entitled Planning for Additional Transplant Expenses. This resource is free, confidential, and assists patients and their families by:
•   Calculating a family’s existing costs and income
•   Identifying important costs the family may incur throughout the transplant process
•   Helping promote financially-specific discussions with family, caregivers, transplant center staff and financial advisors
•   Generating customized financial reports for the patien
•   Linking patients directly with additional financial information and resources

The online financial tool can be found on the NMDP’s Web site, at: www.marrow.org/planahead

Talking Transplant: A New Online Resource for Healthcare Professionals
Talking Transplant is a new online a resource for medical interpreters and other professionals who help transplant patients and families overcome language and cultural barriers. Ten lessons are currently available through Talking Transplant, including supporting glossaries, print materials and audio files. These resources are designed to meet the needs of medical interpreters and other professionals in the following ways:
•   Increase their comfort and familiarity with the transplant process
•   Build their capacity to meet the needs of transplant patients and families
•   Clarify the important role they provide with facilitating access to care and information

Talking Transplant is also a valuable resource for anyone who wants to simply learn more about the transplant process in easy-to-follow modules.Talking Transplant is free, and is available on the NMDP’s Web site, at http://www.talkingtransplant.org/

Patient Survivorship Conferences: Webcasts Available Online
Living Now: A Survivors’ Conference on Life after Transplant was held in San Francisco, Calif., and Philadelphia, Pa., in June 2007. The conference was designed for adult bone marrow or cord blood transplant survivors, caregivers, family members and health care professionals who were interested in learning the latest in post-transplant research and information.

Living Now drew almost 200 attendees. The conference proved to be a success, as nearly 90% of attendees ranked the presentations as very informative. Topic highlights include:
•   Your Post-Transplant Roadmap
•   For Better and for Worse: Survivorship and Quality of Life after Transplant
•   Relationships and Intimacy after Transplant: For People with and without Partners
•   Cancer and the Law These Webcasts are free and are available online at: www.marrow.org/PATIENT/Support_Resources/Living_Now_Recordings/index.html

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