The commemorative event was held yesterday at the Auditorium of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the University of Barcelona and brought together healthcare professionals, patients and researchers to reflect on the trajectory and impact of haematopoietic transplantation.
The welcome to the event was delivered by Dr Montserrat Rovira, Head of the Haematopoietic Transplant Unit, who introduced the institutional welcome by Dr Josep M. Campistol, Director General of Hospital Clínic, and Dr Carlos Fernández de Larrea, Head of the Haematology Department.
The programme included a presentation by Mr Josep Carreras, President of the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Foundation, who addressed the impact and importance of transplantation in the fight against this disease. Dr Enric Carreras, former Director of the Haematopoietic Transplant Programme at Hospital Clínic and former Director of the Spanish Bone Marrow Donor Registry (REDMO), also provided a historical overview of the early days of transplantation at the centre.
Dr Montserrat Rovira, reviewed current challenges and future opportunities in the field, and Mr Ignasi Jaume, gave his testimony as a patient, highlighting the direct impact of this procedure on patients’ lives.
Over these 50 years, Clínic has performed 3,674 haematopoietic progenitor transplants, of which 1,860 have been allogeneic, maintaining a sustained level of activity that now exceeds 100 procedures per year, with a balance between autologous and allogeneic transplants.
What bone marrow transplantation is and its applications
Haematopoietic progenitor transplantation, known as bone marrow transplantation, is a procedure that replaces diseased or defective bone marrow with healthy stem cells. These cells may come from the patient themselves (autologous transplant) or from a compatible donor (allogeneic transplant).
It is a key treatment for serious haematological diseases such as acute leukaemias and myelodysplastic syndromes, as well as other blood disorders. Autologous transplantation, developed later, is also used in onco-haematological diseases and, in experienced centres such as Clínic, in certain autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, scleroderma and systemic sclerosis.
As highlighted by Dr Montserrat Rovira, this is a curative but complex procedure that involves a long and demanding process for patients, including hospital admission and close follow-up over several months.
A milestone that fostered a reference programme
The first transplant at Hospital Clínic was carried out by a team led by Drs Ciril Rozman and Albert Grañena, at a time when this type of procedure was still in its early stages and was reserved for patients with very limited treatment options.
Since then, the haematopoietic transplant programme at Clínic has evolved continuously, contributing to the development of transplantation in Spain. The centre has been instrumental in the introduction of unrelated donor transplantation and has played an active role in consolidating the donation system.
Today, in addition to its clinical activity, the centre serves as a reference for the collection of haematopoietic progenitors from local donors for international patients and maintains a strong role as a training centre for professionals in haematopoietic transplantation.
Improved outcomes and future challenges
Over these five decades, haematopoietic transplantation has undergone significant advances. The types of donors have expanded—including unrelated and partially matched donors—and the patient profile has broadened, allowing more people to benefit from this treatment.
Outcomes have improved progressively, with increased survival and reduced complications. However, disease relapse remains the main challenge and is a key focus of ongoing research aimed at achieving more effective treatments with fewer long-term effects.
You can find all the event photos in this album:
