Westmead Hospital celebrates state-first accreditation

Westmead Hospital is the largest blood transplant centre in New South Wales. Its clinical program and supporting laboratories offer the most sophisticated forms of treatment available in the country.  

The Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) is an internationally-recognised benchmark that guarantees patients from Western Sydney, and those referred from across the state, access to the highest quality life-saving treatments for blood cancers like leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma.  

The international accreditation ensures the Blood Transplant and Cell Therapies program at Westmead Hospital can continue to access the latest treatments available through national and international clinical trials and stay at the cutting edge of therapies.

As a leading centre, Westmead BTCT sees some of our sickest patients – those suffering from blood cancers who have endured many rounds of chemotherapy and radiation treatment without achieving cure.  

Patients like Mark Raeburn, who came to Westmead Hospital for a stem-cell transplant having injured his leg while on holiday in Thailand.

At the time, a doctor at the hospital noticed a low blood count. Further investigations on his return home to Australia led to a diagnosis of myelofibrosis, a rare type of blood cancer.  

“I had the most extreme version of it, and at that point I was told I only had two years to live. They said a transplant was the only possibility,” Mark said.  

Initial investigations into a stem-cell donor ruled out his brother and sons, but through Westmead global network, a match was found in Germany.  

The German donor agreed to proceed with the donation, and within days of stem cells being extracted in Germany, Mark received the life-saving treatment in Westmead in 2019.

Unlike organ donation, the stem cell donor program allows recipients the option of corresponding with their donor in the years following treatment.  

Mark wanted to thank the person who saved his life, German resident, Jasmin Greilich, who was happy to get in touch.  

Jasmin remembers the night she donated the cells at a hospital in Tübingen, in the country’s south.  

“That evening, I was both tired and happy. I was keeping my fingers crossed that my stem cells would multiply well in the donor’s body,” Jasmin said.  

What began with a few text messages grew to a friendship, and Mark and his wife travelled to Germany to thank Jasmin in person in 2024.  

“They became like family to me in such a short time. Unfortunately, there is such a great distance between but that doesn't stop us from staying in regular contact,” Jasmin said.  

Jasmin was inspired by her mother to sign up with the stem cell donor registry years ago, to help those in need.

Mark and his family couldn’t be more grateful for the global program, the Westmead team, and Jasmin for her generosity.

“Jasmin was my lifeline and she's a fantastic person to do that,” Mark said.

Westmead’s accreditation covers the entire continuum of cellular therapy—from donor evaluation and stem cell collection through laboratory processing, product administration, and post-treatment clinical care and long-term follow-up.  

Minister for Health Ryan Park commended the staff who obtained the accreditation, improving health outcomes for patients.

“This accreditation shows the world class care that everyone in Western Sydney can access for free,” Ryan Park said.

“Westmead Hospital continues to build on a reputation of bringing the very best in medicine and treatment to any person who needs it,” Ryan Park said.

The Westmead BTCT Program is proud to work with other organisations including Stem Cell Donors Australia and Red Cross Lifeblood to deliver these complex and life-saving treatments.