A “one-of-a-kind bus” that helps fight blood cancers with an advanced cell-therapy treatment has its first donor — a Boerne resident — urging others to give so many may live.
Simon Hart, who also is a University of Texas at San Antonio master’s candidate, made the recent donation to BioBridge Global’s mobile leukapheresis cell-therapy center in honor of his father, who died earlier this year from cancer.
Hart, who has been donating blood since he was 16, said when the opportunity to help the mobile center arose, he couldn’t pass up the chance.
“Donating is a really easy thing to do,” Hart said. “This was a big opportunity, and I knew there was going to be a smaller pool of candidates.”
According to a BioBridge news release, the bus is the world’s first mobile cell ther cell-therapy collection vehicle and is helping lead the way in the fight against cancer.
Medical specialists said there are only a small number ber of specialized treatment centers with the capability to perform leukapheresis, a lengthy procedure where blood is removed from the body, and then the white blood cells are engineered and transferred to a cancer patient.
The fully stocked mobile clinic provides a much easier way to donate, an official said.
Simon Hart, second from right, attends the unveiling of BioBridge Global’s mobile leukapheresis cell-therapy center.
Courtesy photo “ Our candidates come from the research registry,” said Jimmy Johnson, director of starting materials and research operations at the nonprofit’s BBG Advanced Therapies.
“There’s no commitment on their side, and no guarantee that they will be selected. They just give us enough information to see if they are fit for the studies we have. Typically, our blood donors are selected, but we also hold recruitment clinics at different colleges.”
According to Roger Ruiz, a spokesman for South Texas Blood & Tissue – a subsidiary of BioBridge Global – the mobile clinic will travel to rural areas and places where individuals don’t have a vehicle but still wish to donate.
“The self-contained mobile leukapheresis center includes two cell collection stations and a testing laboratory,” Ruiz said.
Hart said while donating may seem like a hassle, the employees at South Texas Blood & Tissue prioritize their donors’ comfort.
“They sit you in a reclining chair, bring you tacos, put on a movie and wrap you in blankets,” Hart said. “It’s a great way to serve your community in a simple way.”
To learn more about donating, visit www. researchregistry.com.
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