Earlier this week, Stephanie Dormesy, MPH, Senior Director, Cell Sourcing Partnerships, Comprehensive Cell Solutions (CCS), attended the BCA Advanced Therapies Network Workshop, joining industry partners to discuss the evolving role of blood centers in enabling scalable, equitable access to advanced therapies. “BCA” stands for “Blood Centers of America.”
Stephanie shared that one of her biggest takeaways from the workshop was the critical and evolving role that blood centers play in making cell and gene therapy (CGT) a reality for patients. From whole blood to apheresis collections, blood centers are uniquely positioned to support the growth of advanced therapies and help close key gaps that limit patient access.
During the workshop, several key themes emerged. Blood centers are essential to the CGT ecosystem because of their proximity to communities, established donor networks, and operational expertise. Expanding patient access will require moving beyond traditional, centralized models and bringing services closer to underserved regions. The role of apheresis is also shifting beyond oncology and transplant, with increasing demand to support chronic disease and non‑transplant indications, which will require new models of care, partnerships, and infrastructure. Collaboration across all stakeholders, including blood centers, hospitals, CDMOs, payers, specialty pharma, and technology partners, is essential to remove barriers and accelerate treatment availability.
Stephanie expressed gratitude for the conversations and shared insights at the workshop, noting that the future of cell and gene therapy depends on integrated, community-based solutions. She found it inspiring to see the momentum toward making these therapies accessible to patients.
Special thanks to the BCA team for hosting an insightful event. At CCS, we are proud to have leaders like Stephanie actively shaping the future of the cell and gene therapy ecosystem and helping bring life-changing therapies closer to the patients who need them most.