Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research

The Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) is a research collaboration between the National Marrow Donor Program/Be The Match and the Medical College of Wisconsin.

CIBMTR provides a unique resource of information and expertise to the medical and scientific community. Now with data from more than 630,000 patients, more than 1,750 publications, and approximately 250 ongoing studies and clinical trials, CIBMTR is at the forefront of research to increase access to cellular therapies and improve outcomes.

Studies for evidence-based clinical decisions

CIBMTR studies use sophisticated statistical techniques and the power of large numbers to deal with the most timely and pressing issues in cellular therapy. CIBMTR research has:

• Determined outcomes of cellular therapy for rare diseases and new indications
• Defined trends in cellular therapy activity, such as increased use and success in older patients
• Identified factors affecting cellular therapy outcomes, such as age, stage of the disease, and conditioning regimens
• Determined efficacy of various donor types (including sibling, unrelated, and autologous) and graft sources (including cord blood, marrow, and peripheral blood)
• Compared transplant and non-transplant treatments
• Assessed long-term quality of life and late complications after treatment

Collaboration and dedication

This research is possible because of the dedication of thousands of hours of voluntary effort from physicians and scientists, their commitment to submit high-quality data to CIBMTR, and their proposal and implementation of studies using those data.

The unusually inclusive nature of CIBMTR Working Committees and data access policies means that CIBMTR data are available to a broad range of investigators in the field and, in a meaningful way, to physicians and patients dealing with difficult clinical decisions.

Initiatives and resources to advance the field

In addition to its large Research Database, CIBMTR provides multiple other resources important for worldwide cellular therapy research, including:

• A prospective clinical trial network focused on cellular therapy research.
• A repository of donor and recipient cells and DNA
• Innovative biostatistical methodologies for analyzing cellular therapies
• Collaboration with worldwide organizations to exchange and increase data worldwide, including as a founding member of the Worldwide Network for Blood and Marrow Transplantation
• Expertise in Health Services Research methodology and qualitative analysis.

CIBMTR also strives to make the results of our research available to clinicians and patients to improve outcomes and quality of life through publications, guidelines, and reference resources.