The purpose of the book is to focus attention and offer suggestions on controversial and challenging topics in allogeneic stem cell transplant. Over 40,000 allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplants (HCT) are done worldwide each year. Despite advances in allogeneic transplant, the cure rate is only 50-70%, depending on disease and patient factors. The book focuses on key topics such as patient selection, donor selection, conditioning regimens, graft vs. host disease prophylaxis regimens, maintenance strategies, and other topics that affect patient outcomes. The authors also discuss access to transplant care. Through dissemination of these topics, we hope to educate health care professionals caring for these patients, and improve patient outcomes. This is an essential resource for transplant physicians, hematologists/oncologists, and advance practice providers. Several of the topics are controversial issues that are discussed “round the table” frequently by transplant teams.

Dr Karen Ballen is a Professor of Medicine at University of VirginiaVA School of Medicine. She also serves as the chief of the division of Hematology/Oncology, and the Medical Director of the stem cell transplantation program at UVA Cancer Center. Dr. Ballen received her undergraduate degree in history and literature from Harvard College and her MDdoctorate from Dartmouth Medical School. She completed her medical residency at Beth Israel Hospital and a hematology/oncology fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, both in Boston, MA. Before joining UVA's faculty in 2017, Dr. Ballen was the director of the Leukemia Program at Massachusetts General Hospital and a Pprofessor of Mmedicine at Harvard Medical School.Dr. Ballen’s research interests are in novel therapeutic strategies for acute leukemia, including stem cell transplant.immunotherapy and targeted agents. She is an international expert in stem cell transplants, particularly for patients who have a difficult time finding a donor. Dr. Ballen started one of the first cord blood banks in the Unites States, and she has published over 200150 articles on transplants and acute leukemia. She is an Associate Editor of the journal, Bone Marrow Transplantation.