Impact of introducing a hematopoietic cell transplant coordinator-led coordination system on the search time for an unrelated donor

Abstract

 A hematopoietic cell transplant coordinator (HCTC) is responsible for the coordination between recipients and donors in transplant centers. In July 2015, we established an HCTC-led coordination system, replacing the previously physician-led coordination system. In the present study, we retrospectively analyzed the coordination period during the search for unrelated donors through the Japan Marrow Donor Program (JMDP) prior to and after introducing the HCTC-led coordination system at our institution. A total of 72 recipients were enrolled in this study: 41 (prior to) and 31 (after introducing the system). Following the introduction of the HCTC-led coordination system, the median time between registration for the initiation of a JMDP donor search and actual transplant was significantly shortened by 34 days (from 154 to 120 days, P=0.0003). Similarly, the median time between the registration for the initiation of a JMDP donor search and selection of the donor, and the median time between the selection of the donor and actual transplant were significantly shortened from 72 to 58 days (P=0.03) and from 73 to 61 days (P=0.0006), respectively. Our findings suggested that the introduction of an HCTC-led coordination system in transplant centers may markedly shorten the search time for an unrelated donor through the JMDP.