This concise book examines clinically relevant issues relating to the ways in which bone marrow, cord blood and apheresis products, are processed and stored for the purpose of Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation and Cell Therapy. The twin aims are to offer up-to-date content covering a wide spectrum of topics and controversies and to provide practitioners in the field of transplant and cell therapy with practical, immediately applicable information from the internationally experts in the field. Each chapter focuses on a particular subject, and numerous working tables, algorithms, and figures are included. Whenever appropriate, the reader’s attention is drawn to the availability of potentially high-impact clinical trials and expert practices. The authors are all experts who have been carefully selected for their knowledge of the topics that they address. The book will appeal to clinical and laboratory personnels, residents, fellows, and faculty members responsible for the care of hematopoietic cell transplant products and patients. Its format ensures that it will also serve as a robust, engaging tool to aid vital activities in every hematology and oncology trainee’s daily work.
Joseph (Yossi) Schwartz, MD, MPH, is a Professor of Pathology and Cell Biology at the College of Physician and Surgeons of Columbia University and Director of the Transfusion Medicine & Cellular Therapy Service at the Columbia University Medical Center campus of the New York Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Schwartz received his medical degree from the Technion – Israel institute of Technology. He trained in Internal Medicine (Morristown Memorial Hospital, Morristown, New Jersey)), Hematology (Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel), and Transfusion medicine/ Blood banking (New York Blood Center, New York, New York). As the Director of the Transfusion Medicine & Cellular Therapy Service, Dr. Schwartz oversees the Blood Bank, The Apheresis unit and the Cell Therapy facility. As a major transplantation center, those facilities collect, receive & process Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells for transplantation as well as other cellular therapy products . Those facilities also participate in many novel investigations in the Cellular Therapy field involving processing of different Cellular Therapy products for different patients population such as mesenchymal stem cells. In addition, Dr. Schwartz is an international expert of Cellular Therapy & Cord Blood standards.
Beth Shaz, MD, is Chief Medical and Scientific Officer, Senior Vice President at New York Blood Center, and Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Shaz received her medical degree with research distinction from the University of Michigan and Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering with distinction from Cornell University. She did a general surgery internship at Georgetown University, an anatomic & clinical pathology residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and a transfusion medicine fellowship in the Joint Program in Transfusion Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She is responsible for all medical activities, including hemophilia services, transfusion services, cellular therapy laboratory, perioperative autologous transfusion, and therapeutic apheresis. She is leading Comprehensive Cell Solutions, which is focused on developing, improving, and implementing transfusion medicine, regenerative medicine, and cellular therapies.
