10,000 Stem Cell Transplants: Lu Daopei, "The Last Stop for Hematology Patients"

Reaching 10,000 transplants is a significant milestone. On January 27, 1964, Academician Lu Daopei, the "founder of bone marrow transplantation in China," performed Asia's first and the world's fourth allogeneic bone marrow transplantation at Peking University People's Hospital, opening the era of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for hematological diseases in China. On April 19, 2024, Lu Daopei Medical Group completed its 10,000th HSCT, reaching this milestone in the shortest time in the industry. On social platforms, praise from patients and families is countless, from families "pulled out of the mire" after a decade of setbacks to those touched by the group's personalized plans and follow-up services.

"Saving More Hematology Patients"

The group's founding stemmed from Academician Lu Daopei's simple wish: "I want to save more hematology patients." In April 2012, the group signed a strategic cooperation with Yanda Group to establish the Lu Daopei Hematology and Oncology Center. In the early 21st century, his team developed the GIAC regimen, pioneering haploidentical HSCT in China. In 2019, annual HSCTs exceeded 1,000 for the first time, reaching 1,081 (over 70% haploidentical related), achieving curative effects comparable to fully matched and unrelated transplants. That year the group received the only International Achievement Award in the 2019 Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Action Awards from the Regenerative Medicine Foundation (RMF), the first Chinese organization to receive this honor. From 2018 to 2023, the team led by Professor Lu Peihua published 310 papers as first or corresponding author, including 226 SCI papers with a cumulative impact factor of 642.369. At the 50th Annual Meeting of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT), the team presented 18 research achievements, including one oral presentation.

"The Last Stop for Hematology Patients"

In most cases, Lu Daopei Hospital is not a patient's first choice. "Especially when the hospital was starting, most patients had complex, critical conditions," said Director Lu Peihua. Handling difficult and critically ill patients from the beginning earned the title "the last stop for hematology patients." To ease treatment, patients gathered near the hospital, forming the famous "Little White Village" in Yanjiao, where tens of thousands of hematology patients and families live year-round. Niuniu (pseudonym), diagnosed with infant leukemia at just 2 months old, was the youngest patient ever admitted; the team created a personalized plan, and at 6 months he met transplant standards and underwent double umbilical cord blood HSCT, later being discharged. The group has treated many special cases, including aplastic anemia with hemophilia, congenital single kidney, liver transplant recipients, and rare diseases such as high-risk Langerhans cell histiocytosis and mucopolysaccharidosis. Patients receive equal, warm and efficient care: since 2012 the hospital has provided pick-up and accommodation services, in 2021 it established a volunteer service fleet, its Social Services Department provides unrelated donor search services, and a "five-year one-stop" follow-up process maintains contact until patients are fully cured of leukemia. All medical team contact information is public, so patients can obtain support whenever needed.

10,000 Transplants: Not the End

Today the group's hospitals have 860 beds and 137 Class 100 laminar flow wards. The upcoming new Shanghai campus will have 276 beds, including 24 Class 100 laminar flow wards and 7 clean intensive care beds, and the relocated Hebei Yanda Lu Daopei Hospital is expected to have 800 beds and at least 70 transplant wards. Academician Lu Daopei once said, "In my lifetime, I must conquer hematological diseases." Director Lu Peihua added, "We are not just building a hospital for treating diseases; we must have excellent technology, be at the forefront of academia, and take our advantages abroad to cultivate the next generation of hematologists." The 10,000-HSCT milestone reflects the group's original aspiration of benefiting patients and its ambition to build a world-class hematological disease treatment platform.