Already nationally and internationally recognized for excellence in patient treatment and care, CHORI's Center for Sickle Cell Disease and Thalassemia (CST) strives to improve public awareness of these diseases, expand the current knowledge base, and ultimately, to provide innovative treatment, care - and cures.

"Thalassemia and sickle cell disease have been affecting millions of children for centuries," says Elliot Vichinsky, MD, principal investigator at CHORI and chief of the division of Hematology/Oncology at Children's Hospital Oakland (CHO). "Only in the last 25 years scientists have advanced tremendously their understanding of these illnesses, their ability to care for the kids they affect and there ability to deliver cures."

CHORI's CST is a global leader in advancing the scientific knowledge of these debilitating blood diseases, providing the most comprehensive clinical and research center in the world, housing the only not-for-profit Sibling Donor Cord Blood Program in the world, and offering a internationally recognized Blood and Marrow Transplant Program that provides cures to children with the deadliest presentation of these blood disorders.

"In the hospital we help many children, one child at a time," explains Dr. Vichinsky. "In the research institute, we benefit countless children around the world."