Screen grab via Valley Children's video

Valley Children’s Healthcare on Thursday announced a historic $15 million donation that will bring life-saving cancer treatment closer to home.

The gift will work to expand the availability of bone marrow transplants and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy for Central Valley children, eliminating the need for patients to be referred to facilities in Los Angeles or the Bay Area.

The anonymous donation is one of the largest single donations in the more than 70-year history of Valley Children’s Healthcare, according to a news release. The gift will support the establishment and accreditation of the program as well as operational funding for staff and equipment for its first 10 years.

It will take three to four years to establish the program and achieve accreditation.

“This gift will bring transformational cancer therapies directly to the children whose families look to us to provide them with the best care in the country,” said Valley Children’s CEO and President Todd Suntrapak. “Children who need these advanced therapies will no longer have to travel long distances and spend extended days away from home to get treatment and will be able to receive life-saving therapies in a familiar setting, with their families close by.”

CAR T-cell therapy utilizes the body’s natural immune system to fight cancer and other infections. The therapy, which involves genetically modifying a patient’s T-cells, resulted in 60% remission after a five-year period in a study finalized in 2021.

“These therapies are some of the most powerful weapons we have in our cancer-fighting arsenal, but they also require a combination of medical expertise and specialized equipment to deliver effectively,” said Dr. Vinod Balasa, medical director of Valley Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. “This is a life-saving advancement for our patients.”

To date more than 2,000 children have received CAR T-cell therapy and 60% are alive and cancer free after five years, according to a Valley Children’s news release. “Many of these patients would have likely succumbed to infection had they not received treatment.”

The treatment, effective in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, replaces traditional bone marrow transplants used for decades, according to Balasa.

Despite ranking consistently in the top 5-8% worldwide for patient enrollment to the Children’s Oncology Group, the hospital had, until the donation, been required to send patients out of the area for cell therapies, including marrow transplants.

“Because of this important donation, we will be able to establish a life-saving cellular and gene therapy program at Valley Children’s.” Balasa added. “This is truly a momentous day for our hospital and the Central Valley community,”