Late effects of hemopoietic stem cell transplant for sickle cell disease: monitoring and management.

Introduction: Allogeneic hemopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a curative therapy for sickle cell disease (SCD). Exposure to both SCD and HSCT conditioning regimens is associated with late health effects.

Areas Covered: This review addresses post-HSCT outcomes and late health effects among individuals with SCD exposed to allogeneic HSCT regimens, summarizes recommendations for long-term care, and identifies future survivorship research needs.

Expert Opinion: Individuals with SCD exposed to HSCT and gene therapy require multidisciplinary care to monitor late health effects. To optimize care, multi-disciplinary clinics that include experts in late effects of HSCT exposure, SCD, complex chronic pain, mental health, and social work are needed. Research defining the late effects of exposure is needed to inform patient management and build clinical care infrastructure.