Haemopoietic stem cell transplants (HSCT) are used to treat a range of both haematological and non-haematological malignancies and other serious conditions. These stem cells may come from bone marrow, peripheral blood or cord blood. Transplants can be allogeneic, using stem cells from a donor, or autologous, where the patient’s own stem cells are harvested and then returned, usually after high-dose conditioning chemotherapy (depending on the disease). HSCT are used as treatment for many indications including acute and chronic leukaemias, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, some solid tumours and other conditions such as myelodysplasia, aplastic anaemia, thalassemia and immune disorders.
The Australasian Bone Marrow Transplant Recipient Registry (ABMTRR) was established in 1992 to record details of all HSCT. The ABMTRR operates under the auspices of the Bone Marrow Transplant Society of Australia and New Zealand. Contributing centres provide registrations of new transplants to the ABMTRR and also information on the progress of previous transplant patients. Currently the database holds information on over 36,000 HSCT from 52 centres around Australia and New Zealand. Accrual has been above 2,000 transplants per year since 2015.
Arrow has supported the registry since it was first established, and has continued its support each year by contributing towards the production and distribution costs of the Annual Data Summary. This document is distributed to more than 500 clinicians and researchers from Australia and New Zealand. Data are provided for research projects and ad hoc requests from clinicians, researchers and government officials. The information may be used for publications in peer reviewed journals, presented at conferences (both local and international) and used by hospital and government departments for administrative, quality and planning purposes.
Arrow supported the ABMTRR Workshops at Blood 2018 in Brisbane in October. These workshops allowed data managers to come together to learn about the importance of data quality in order to maximise the benefits to research and patient care, and how enhancements to the ASTRO database can assist with streamlining data collection, study management and analysis. It was also a networking opportunity, as many data managers have no regular contact with others in similar roles.