Resources Continuously Added to FACT Website

Posted in :: 2017 Volume 2 :: Thursday, October 26th, 2017

Topics include clinical outcomes, immune effector cellular therapy, patients and families, and more

To support FACT-accredited organizations and the FACT mission to improve cellular therapy, resources are continuously added to the FACT website. This article highlights just a few of the informational webpages that provide links to journal articles, instructions, examples, and more.

Clinical Outcomes

FACT supports blood and marrow transplant (BMT) programs’ efforts to evaluate one-year survival data to improve patient outcomes, advance the field, and maintain payer and public confidence. FACT requires programs to submit a corrective action plan when one-year survival does not at least meet expected outcomes as demonstrated in comparative data. Several resources are available to assist programs with identifying trends in cause of death, the root causes, and corrective and preventive actions. This page includes links to comparative data sources (especially helpful to autologous-only and non-U.S. programs), educational resources, and example corrective action plans. The page also lists the guidelines for corrective action plans for quick reference.

Immune Effector Cells

The main objective of FACT’s Immune Effector Cell Standards is to promote quality practice in immune effector cellular therapy. FACT is committed to supporting efforts to make quality immune effector cellular therapy accessible to patients much like it did for bone marrow transplant and cord blood banking. Several resources are available to assist with understanding immune effector cells and implementing FACT Standards. Resources include FACT Standards for Immune Effector Cells, educational on-demand webinars, frequently asked questions, and journal articles. Examples of guidelines and procedures used by organizations for managing immune effector cell programs and patients will soon be available.

Patients and Families

Education and assistance for cellular therapy patients and their families are key to promoting desirable clinical outcomes. Direct links to a variety of organizations and informational sources are listed for several topics, including donor registries, information and support, cord blood banking and donation, and clinical trials and access to cell therapies.

Quality Management

Although quality management is relatively new to cellular therapy programs and cord blood banks,  the principles of quality assurance and quality control have long been incorporated. For the FACT accreditation process, the real turning point for emphasis on quality management activities was with the release of the third editions of the Cellular Therapy Standards and Cord Blood Standards, which included greatly expanded Quality Management sections. Since that time, FACT has developed and introduced quality-based educational materials to assist your organization with developing and enhancing your Quality Management Program.