Expect the unexpected: maintaining and optimizing a cell collection network during COVID-19

Abstract

Amy Hines, RN, BSN, is the Director of Collection Services for the NMDP/Be The Match. She works with senior leadership to develop the strategy for the growth of the NMDP/Be The Match-owned network of apheresis facilities and is responsible for the implementation of that strategy. Hines was an instrumental member of the NMDP/Be The Match team that planned and launched the Be The Match Seattle Collection Center, which opened in January 2020. She joined NMDP/Be The Match in 2013 managing the NMDP/Be The Match Apheresis and Collection Center Network of more than 90 apheresis center and 80 collection center partners. She then became the Director of Collection Network Management for Be The Match BioTherapies. In this role, Hines oversaw the performance of apheresis centers and cell therapy labs in the Collection Network, and ensured their ongoing compliance with FDA and international standards and criteria, industry best practices, and appropriate regulatory and accrediting entities. Hines has spoken about the challenges apheresis centers are facing and then need for standardization during multiple conferences and webinars, including Cell and Gene Therapy World U.S. 2018, the Adoptive T-Cell Therapy: Development track of the Immuno-Oncology Summit 2018, Phacilitate: Leaders World 2019 and World Advanced Therapies & Regenerative Medicine Congress 2019. She has nearly 20 years of experience in the cellular therapy field, starting her career as a stem cell transplant nurse. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich.