In announcing the designation, the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) stated that the transplant program and its providers meet the advanced education, training and/or experience requirements to deliver services through CCS.
CCS is a state program that provides health care and services to children up to age 21 with certain diseases or health conditions.
Faith Brown was a pediatric bone marrow transplant recipient at UC Davis Health.
UC Davis Health actively sought the designation to help support pediatric patients in need of complex care.
“So many dedicated people worked so hard for this,” said Lisa Madden, a pediatric hematologist-oncologist who leads the Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Program at UC Davis Health. “This will make a huge difference for our families. It will allow our patients to remain close to home, when they are in need of these life-saving therapies. It’s a very exciting thing.”
The UC Davis Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Program was revitalized in 2023 and received accreditation from the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) last fall. It is the only provider of pediatric stem cell transplantation in the Sacramento area. It offers advanced therapies for high-risk leukemia, hemoglobin disorders, metabolic diseases, bone marrow failure disorders and immune deficiencies. The pediatric program is part of UC Davis Health’s Stem Cell Transplant and the Institute for Regenerative Cures programs, which enhance care for patients of all ages.
The CCS program is administered in partnership with county health departments and DHCS. To qualify for the program, a child must have a CCS-eligible condition, live in California and meet financial eligibility requirements. Financial eligibility is not limited to families earning $40,000 or less. While families with an adjusted gross income of $40,000 or less may qualify, families with higher incomes may also be eligible if their child's medical expenses are significant. Children enrolled in Medi-Cal may qualify for CCS.
