International Blood and Bone Marrow Registries Awarded $9.5 Million NIH Grant

Mary Horowitz, MD, MS scientific director of the International Bone Marrow Transplant Registry and the Autologous Blood and Marrow Transplant Registry (IBMTR/ABMTR) at the Medical College of Wisconsin, has been awarded a 5-year, $9.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

The grant is intended to fund the operation and further development of this data and statistical resource. It replaces the National Institutes of Health Program Project grant mechanis, which now provides approximately 50% of the funding for the activities of the IBMTR/ABMTR Statistical Center as a data resource for analyzing blood and marrow transplants.

Dr. Horowitz is professor of medicine and a member of the Cancer Center at the Medical College. The IBMTR/ABMTR is a division of the Medical College’s Health Policy Institute.

The Statistical Center coordinates an international effort to collect and analyze data on outcome of blood and bone marrow transplants. The IBMTR, established in 1972, and the ABMTR, established in 1990, involve more than 400 transplant centers in 47 countries. Participating centers submit data on consecutive transplants to the center. The registries currently have data for more than 80,000 transplants.

These data are used to determine transplant results in specific clinical situations. Researchers identify prognostic factors and compare transplant regimens and transplant therapy with nontransplant therapy. They also assess variability in diagnosis, practice, and outcomes among transplant centers. The data are also used to evaluate transplant costs and cost-effectiveness, plan clinical trials or treatment protocols, and develop approaches to evaluating transplant outcomes.