At the haematology ward we examine and treat adult patients with haematological (blood) diseases. We offer our patients haematological services by top experts in modern facilities. As a patient, you will get sophisticated, customized treatment based on a precise diagnosis and individualized treatment.

The most common conditions treated at the haematology ward of the Turku University Hospital are acute and chronic leukaemias, myeloma, lymphoma, myelodysplastic syndrome and aplastic anaemia.

A stem cell transplantation unit works in conjunction with the haematology ward.

The multiprofessional team working to the benefit of our patients includes top specialist physicians in haematology, physicians specializing in haematology, nurses, practical nurses and ward secretaries. Our aim is to provide individualized and holistic treatment. For this, you may also be serviced by physiotherapists, clinical nutritionists, social workers and pharmacists.

In Finland, you may choose where you want to have your treatment, and in accordance with this principle, patients are welcome from all over Finland to our haematology ward. For this, a referral from your doctor is needed.

Facilities

The haematology ward and stem cell transplantation unit operate in modern facilities, designed for our specific needs of treating patients at university hospital level, while maintaining a high level of patient comfort.

We reside in the T-Hospital, 7th floor, in spacious and bright facilities. The patient rooms of the ward are of the highest standard: There are 10 single rooms and 4 rooms for two patients each. The rooms may be used for isolation of patients at risk of infection, if needed. All patient rooms have large, bright windows and are equipped with a refrigerator, television, wireless web and a nurse-call system. Each room has toilet and shower facilities.

Visiting

The ward is open 24/7 every day throughout the year. Family and close of kin are welcome to visit patients at the ward. Visiting hours are from 1 to 7 PM (13 to 19 hours); visiting times to patients in single rooms are flexible. Persons with any infectious disease, including the common cold and the flu, are not allowed to visit the ward because of the risk of spreading the disease to patients.

We work in close collaboration with the laboratory.

People in charge:

Head of section Maija Itälä-Remes, head physician, tel. 02 313 0016.

Head nurse Heli Salovaara, tel. 02 313 2015.

Haematological diseases may be treated with medicines or stem cell transplantation. The stem cells are cells produced by the bone marrow. All blood cells develop from the stem cells. A stem cell transplantation is a procedure by which stem cells collected from the circulating blood or from the bone marrow are given by infusion to the patient.

Stem cells may be collected from

• the patient him/herself – this is called an autologous stem cells transplantation. Autologous stem cell transplantations are usually performed to treat myeloma and lymphoma.
• a family member or an unknown, suitable, registered volunteer donor – this is called an allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Allogeneic stem cell transplantations are usually used to treat acute leukemias and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).

At our unit we perform allogeneic as well as autologous stem cell transplantations.

The stem cell transplantation unit at the Tyks University Hospital is one of the two national stem cell transplantation units in Finland where complicated allogeneic stem cell transplantations are carried out with stem cells collected from healthy, unrelated donors to manage patients with difficult-to-treat haematological conditions. The primary donor is a sibling, if suitable. If not, a suitable donor will usually be identified through searches in international stem cell donor registers. These registers have a database of some 30 million voluntary donors. Through a computer search of this database it is possible to identify a suitable stem cell donor. In Finland, the Finnish Red Cross Blood Service maintains a stem cell registry of some 40,000 donors. Donation practices have recently been modified, and now it is possible for first-degree relatives, under specified conditions, to donate stem cells. Thus, a parent may donate to a child and vice versa. These transplantations are called haploidentical haematopoietic stem cell transplantations.

Patients from all of Finland are referred to us for allogeneic stem cell transplantation. If the treatment is carried out in some other language than Finnish, Swedish or English, interpretation services are available at a fee.

All autologous stem cell transplantations within the area of special responsibility of the Turku University Hospital are performed at our stem cell transplantation unit.

We were the first in Finland, in 1991, to perform a stem cell transplantation with peripheral blood stem cells. For this, we had refined the technique of collecting peripheral blood stem cells by apheresis (stem cell apheresis). In 2017, our center performed the largest number in Finland of stem cell transplantations where the donor is a first-degree relative, i.e. haploidentical haematopoietic stem cell transplantations.

Our unit had seen a substantial increase in the annual number of stem cell transplantations in the recent years. This has markedly increased our experience of the entire spectrum of transplantations used in haematology.

We have, since 2006, maintained an international accreditation status of quality standards JACIE/EBMT; this, in itself, proves the high standards of work done at our stem cell transplantation unit.

Our physicians working under the leadership of the Director of the Stem Cell Transplantation program is a highly experienced team of experts who have worked in this field for many years.

The Director of the Stem Cell Transplantation program is Dr. Maija Itälä-Remes, chief physician.

Save lives – donate! Here you may read more about the Finnish Red Cross Blood Service Stem cell register.

​Asiantuntemusta ja osaamista

Toimimme kliinisen hematologian ja kantasolujensiirtojen osaamiskeskuksena, ja seuraamme tarkoin eri tautien hoidollisia kehityksiä maailmalla ja sovellamme niitä omien potilaidemme hoitoon.

Osallistumme kansainvälisiin tutkimuksiin, mutta panostamme merkittävästi myös omaan tutkimukseen, jonka välittömänä tavoitteena on jatkuvasti kehittää siirtomenetelmiä. Tutkimuksen painopisteinä ovat uudet molekyyligeneettiset tutkimusmenetelmät ja uusimman immunologisen tiedon hyödyntäminen hoitotuloksissa sekä uusimpien tekniikoiden käyttö siirtoprosessissa.

Osallistumme myös lukuisiin hoito- ja lääketutkimuksiin erityisesti pahanlaatuisten veritautien osalta. Tällä tavoin potilaillamme on mahdollisuus saada uusia lääkehoitoja sairauteensa paljon ennen kuin ne tulevat yleisesti saataville.

Yksikkömme on mukana lukuisissa hematologisia hoitoja käsittelevissä julkaisuissa, joko omien tai yhteistyöllä tehtyjen tutkimusten puitteissa.

Kantasolujensiirtoyksikkömme on viime vuosina merkittävästi lisännyt siirtojensa määrää. Tämä on mahdollistanut uusien hoitomuotojen käyttöönoton yksikössämme. Kantasolusiirtojen parissa työskentelevä lääkärijoukko on kokenut ja pitkään alalla toiminut tiimi. 

Toimimme uusissa, käyttötarkoitukseemme rakennetuissa tiloissa, joissa on huipputasoiset eristyshuoneet ja joissa on panostettu avaruuteen ja viihtyvyyteen.  Osastolla on 10 yhden hengen huonetta ja 4 kahden hengen huonetta. Kaikilla huoneissa on wc, televisio ja nettiyhteys.

Vastuuhenkilöt

Vastuualuejohtaja Kari Remes, professori, ylilääkäri, puh. 02 313 0016
Osastonhoitaja Heli Salovaara, puh. 02 313 2014

Kantasolujensiirtoyksikkö

Osastonylilääkäri, dosentti Maija Itälä-Remes, puh. 02 313 0498

Siirtokoordinaattorit

Erikoislääkäri, LT Mervi Putkonen, puh. 02 313 0603
Erikoislääkäri, LT Urpu Salmenniemi, puh. 02 313 0169
Erikoissairaanhoitaja Erica Lauraeus-Käkelä, puh. 02 313 1052

Laatupäällikkö

Erikoislääkäri, dosentti Marjut Kauppila, puh. 02 313 0448