LHSC now able to offer stem cell transplants between unrelated donors and recipients
More patients from the London region in need of stem cell transplants can now receive care closer to home. As of Summer 2025, London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) began offering stem cell transplants between unrelated patients and donors.
“LHSC has performed related donor stem cell transplants for many years, but the unrelated donor (URD) transplants require significantly more coordination,” explains Carey Landry, Director, Inpatient Oncology, CMH & Stem Cell at LHSC.
“With international donor searches, testing and clearance, registry coordination, global courier logistics and ensuring compliance with the World Marrow Donor Association standards, it took some time for us to build the program to include unrelated donor stem cell transplants.”
While most stem cell transplants are performed on patients with blood cancers, there are a small number of other conditions where an URD transplant may be considered, including certain inherited blood disorders.
“We are now pleased to provide this treatment locally, reducing the travel burden on the patient during an already challenging time,” Landry says, noting nine such procedures have been completed since LHSC’s URD transplants began.
Jaci Van Altena was the first LHSC patient to receive this specific kind of transplant last summer. Originally from Bayfield, On, VanAltena was living abroad in New Zealand, working on a flower farm in May 2024 when she started feeling unwell.
The 10-year veteran of the Royal Canadian Navy had troubling symptoms like unexplained bruising, shortness of breath and was coughing up blood. Medical teams in New Zealand would go on to diagnosis her with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia – a fast-growing blood cancer.
After learning of her condition, Van Altena came home on Canada Day that year and started treatments at LHSC’s Verspeeten Family Cancer Centre. When it became clear those treatments wouldn’t keep her cancer at bay, she was referred to the Verspeeten’s Blood and Marrow Transplant Program (BMTP) and Dr. Uday Deotare, Hematologist and Blood and Marrow Transplant Physician.
“At first, I did not like the idea of the transplant because of all the risks. But it was my best option for long-term remission,” Van Altena shared.
After learning Van Altena’s sister wasn’t a match, the search began for an unrelated donor.
That process started with Van Altena’s care team entering her information into the Canadian Blood Services’ Stem Cell Registry platform, allowing them to not only search for potential volunteer donors across the country, but also letting them access an international database with more than 40 million registrants. Donors are rigorously screened and tested for various conditions to minimize the risk of disease transmission through the stem cell transplant process.
Once a donor was chosen, a collection date was confirmed and the team in London booked a courier to deliver the stem cell donation.
Van Altena received chemotherapy to prepare for her procedure, tolerating it very well. She experienced more intense side effects with the stem cell transplant itself but remained positive about the outcome.
“Everyone in my care has been amazing. All of the nurses on the seventh floor that took care of me during the transplant were so kind. I loved that they got my sense of humor and gave it right back to me. I’ll forever be grateful for everyone on my team,” Van Altena shares.
Van Altena continues to be seen by Dr. Deotare for monthly checkups, but over time those will become yearly appointments with routine bloodwork to ensure she remains in remission.
“I’ve started going back to work a couple of hours a day with my dad doing construction. I’m getting back into the gym to get my strength and stamina back and I’m eating well,” she says. “I’m ready for the next chapter of my life.”
