Process of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Decision Making for Older Adults

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) may be the only curative option for some older adults with hematologic malignancies, and its associated risks of significant morbidity and mortality warrant a clear, informed decision-making process. As older adults have not been transplanted routinely until recent years, younger people have been the prototypical group around whom the current process has developed. Yet, this process is applied to older adults who have different considerations than younger patients when making their transplant decision. Older adults do not have the open-ended lives of younger patients and are entitled to consider how to spend their remaining time. They also possess maturity and experience, and with proper knowledge, they can make informed choices rather than moving forward in the transplant process unaware. Notably, older patients face similar problems with the informed decision-making process in nephrology. Strategies such as providing education about alloHCT gradually and repeatedly during induction, presenting recent knowledge from the literature in plain language, and utilizing a team approach to patient education may help older adults make the best decision about transplant in light of their situation and values. Understanding when and how older adults decide on alloHCT is an important first step to further exploring this problem.