Hospital programme in downtown Chicago using stem cell transplantation to reset the immune system in selected severe autoimmune and neurological diseases.
This is a hospital programme within Northwestern Medicine, run as the non-malignant arm of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in downtown Chicago. It is important to understand that this is a fundamentally different kind of treatment from the injections offered by private regenerative medicine clinics. Here, stem cell transplantation is used to shut down and then rebuild the immune system in people with severe autoimmune disease - the same technique used in blood cancer care, applied to autoimmune conditions.
The programme uses autologous transplant, in which stem cells are collected from the patient's own bloodstream or bone marrow, and allogeneic transplant, using cells from a tissue-matched donor. Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, known as CAR T-cell therapy, in which a patient's own T cells are genetically modified, is offered through clinical trials only. Supporting facilities include the Rube Walker Blood Center for outpatient collection and infusion, and the Mathews Center for Cellular Therapy, which processes and prepares the cell products.
Care is delivered by a multidisciplinary team, with transplant and cell therapy specialists working alongside rheumatology, neurology, cardiology, respiratory medicine, dermatology and kidney specialists. The programme works with Northwestern's Multiple Sclerosis and Clinical Neuroimmunology Programme, recognised by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and its Scleroderma Programme, designated by the National Scleroderma Foundation. This is intensive, high-risk hospital treatment offered only to selected patients after specialist assessment, not a walk-in service.
Treatment is offered only for selected severe autoimmune and neurological conditions, and only after specialist assessment establishes that a patient is a suitable candidate.
The cells used are blood-forming (haematopoietic) stem cells, not the mesenchymal or birth-tissue products used by private regenerative clinics.
The programme page describes a named transplant team but does not list individual physicians with credentials.
The programme is based at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in downtown Chicago, and is part of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center. Outpatient cell collection and infusion take place at the Rube Walker Blood Center, and cell products are processed at the Mathews Center for Cellular Therapy. Opening hours, the year the programme was established, languages spoken and any dedicated international patient service are not stated on the page.
No prices are published. Transplant care in an academic hospital is generally handled through insurance and requires pre-authorisation rather than being sold as a package price; costs should be discussed with the programme and your insurer.
Profile compiled from information published on the clinic's own website and from the StemCell Registry directory record. Details may change; confirm directly with the clinic before making decisions.