13th Annual PTCTC Educational Meeting: Select & Sustain: From Donor Choice to Short-Term Safety and Long-Term Recovery

About This Grant

PROJECT SUMMARY We propose to organize and conduct the Thirteenth (13th) Annual Pediatric Transplant and Cellular Therapy Consortium (PTCTC) Meeting at the NMDP, which houses an indoor arena located in Minneapolis, MN, on April 28th, 2026. A unique aspect of the Annual PTCTC Educational Meeting is that it is jointly held with the international American Society of Pediatric Hematology Oncology Conference (April 29-May 2, 2026) and includes a Combined Plenary Session, bringing pediatric hematology oncology professionals together from around the world. Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is a potentially curative therapy for many childhood illnesses. Basic, translational, and clinical research advances have significantly increased non-relapse mortality after HCT. The remarkable success is partly owed to the presentation, dissemination, and sharing of new knowledge at annual meetings. This 1-day program will invigorate the field of pediatric HCT. The theme of the 13th Annual PTCTC Educational Meeting will be “Select & Sustain: From Donor Choice, to Short Term Safety and Long-Term Recovery”. The meeting will focus on donor selection for HCT (a special focus of the NMDP) as well as short-term transplant-related complications and improving care for our long-term survivors in the years after treatments. The first session will provide the latest on HLA typing to select the optimal donor and provide updates on clinical trials that expand donor access/availability. A session focusing on acute transplant complications will include presentations and discussions on endothelial injury, special considerations for patients requiring care in the pediatric intensive care unit, and complications in those being treated for non-malignant disease. A third session will provide further insight into the care of long-term survivors following HCT and cellular therapy. Their unique medical needs require knowledge about potential long-term side effects and how to best identify and screen for these complications. Presentations will focus on the appropriate use of guideline-directed care, challenges in transitions of care as patients age or move from the treating center, and unique considerations for the malignant vs non-malignant patient populations. Finally, we will have a session dedicated to healthcare provider resilience and mentorship. The primary objectives include: I) review the “state of the science” in donor selection, access, and HLA typing, II) providing evidence-based guidelines to screen, recognize, and treat acute toxicities after HCT through standardized strategies that can be implemented irrespective of the treating institution; III) review the up-to-date recommendations in long-term survivorship care, IV) enhance the understanding of wellness through resilience and mentorship, and V) provide mechanisms to recognized to promote networking and collaboration of research and clinical trials involving pediatric HCT patients. The results of the 13th Annual PTCTC Educational Meeting will enhance our understanding of the basic, translational, and clinical state of the scientific research on the above noted topic areas, which will provide an opportunity and platform to engage young and senior clinicians and scientists to develop collaborative research.