University of Minnesota Fanconi Anemia Program

The Fanconi Anemia Comprehensive Care Program at the University of Minnesota is the single largest treatment center for patients with Fanconi Anemia (FA) in the United States.  The care provided is individually tailored to meet the unique needs of each patient and family.  This program uses a team of expert health care providers who specialize in FA, applying leading-edge research developed by University of Minnesota scientists.

The University of Minnesota has set the standard for bone marrow transplant (BMT) as a treatment for Fanconi Anemia and other diseases since we performed the world's first successful BMT in 1968.  University of Minnesota physicians have performed sibling donor transplants for FA since 1976 and unrelated donor transplants for FA since 1987.

We have treated more FA patients with BMT than any other center in North America.   In 2000, we broke ground by performing the world’s first cord blood transplant on a Fanconi Anemia patient using pre-implantation genetic testing to ensure a perfect tissue match.   As a result of this work, Fanconi Anemia patients have been referred at diagnosis or shortly thereafter to assist in the care of FA patients well in advance of BMT.  Our patients are treated by a team of experts specializing in gastroenterology, nephrology, cardiology, orthopedic surgery, endocrinology, infectious diseases, nutrition, neurology, general surgery, otolaryngology and hand surgery.

Dr. John E. Wagner, Professor, University of Minnesota Medical School, and Scientific Director of Clinical Research, Blood and Marrow Transplant Program and Stem Cell Institute, and Dr. Margaret MacMillan, Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota Medical School, are world-renowned experts in the field of BMT and Fanconi Anemia, in particular.  Their research at the University of Minnesota’s Stem Cell Institute involves exploring novel ways to increase cure rates and improve quality of life for patients with FA.

This expertise in FA translates into a unique opportunity for our Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/BMT fellows to learn about a disease that was once uniformally fatal and now has a greater than 80% cure rate.  Our fellows spend time in the FA clinic during their BMT outpatient months in their first year.