It’s natural for patients and families to have questions about the blood stem cell transplant process, but it can be especially overwhelming for kids. NMDP's Ava + Bo video series aims to make these topics understandable for all ages.
The animated videos feature Ava, a young transplant recipient, who shares tips and stories from her own experience in simple language and helpful graphics. She’s joined by her cuddly stuffed lion, Bo.
The first two videos, “What is a Bone Marrow Transplant?” and "What Happens During Bone Marrow Transplant?", have had more than 43,000 views since they launched on YouTube in 2021.
In November, we introduced a third video, made possible by funding from Incyte and other philanthropic partners. In this video, Ava explains graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) , a possible post-transplant complication, with help from her friend Jaden.
Each of the videos is also available in a Spanish language version , which have had more than 22,000 views in total.
Approximately 10-15% of our patient population is pediatric, and these videos have also been helpful for young family members of an adult patient and others wanting to better understand the transplant process. For example, one parent of a patient shared that the videos were useful to show her son’s class to explain why he was going to be out of school for a while.
Incyte has also been a generous supporter of our patient and caregiver emotional support (PACES) program and the NMDP Survivorship Program.
“Incyte is honored to provide support to NMDP that help patients and their families,” said Colby Accola, Senior Manager, Communications & Patient Advocacy, North America at Incyte. “Supporting patient communities is a critical part of our work at Incyte, and resources like the Ava + Bo series and counseling services programs provide educational and emotional support in such an impactful and accessible way.
NMDP is grateful to Incyte for their meaningful partnership. Together we’re able to make an even bigger difference for patients, families and entire communities.
More information
Complete Ava + Bo video series
Free counseling services
Visit: bethematch.org
Email: patientinfo@nmdp.org
Phone: 1-888-999-6743
NMDP Survivorship Program
Visit: bethematch.org
Email: survivorship@nmdp.org
Phone: 1-866-301-4650
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