Setting the standard: Tennessee Valley stem cell processing lab earns national accreditation

FACT is the leading accrediting body in the United States for cellular therapy and stem cell transplant programs. With zero clinical findings during the review, the recognition reflects the strength of the TVHS program and the dedicated team working to ensure safe, high-quality care. 

“Accreditation for stem cell transplant processing lab was really critical to maintaining the utmost care for our patients who need stem cell transplant services.” said Dr. Salyka Sengsayadeth, TVHS Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Transplant Medical Director. 

To earn designation, programs undergo an extensive peer review process conducted by voluntary inspectors from across the country, ensuring the program meets rigorous standards for patient care, laboratory procedures and quality management. In 2024, the TVHS apheresis lab also received FACT accreditation. 

The accreditation would not have been possible without the collaborative effort of physicians, nurses, laboratory specialists and support staff. 

“There's a lot of preparation immediately before an inspection,” said Dr. Deva Sharma, TVHS processing lab co-director. “But as a team, we're continually reviewing what we can do better on a day-to-day basis.”

TVHS Stem Cell Transplant Program

The TVHS Stem Cell Transplant program has been serving Veterans for several years, treating aggressive blood cancers and autoimmune disease disorders, while continuing to expand its capabilities. 

One of the most distinctive aspects of the program is that TVHS is the only VA in the country with a fully integrated stem cell transplant program, with an apheresis, processing and infusion team at the Nashville VA Medical Center.  

“The really unique thing about our center is that everything we do is in-house,” Sengsayadeth said. “That allows us to provide services in a much more expedited way to our Veterans.”

Because of this capacity, TVHS receives referrals from all over the country. Between Oct. 2024 and Oct. 2025, the program processed 128 patients.  

“[Stem cell transplant] is really a beautiful process that that goes from patient, bedside and to the bench here in the processing lab and back to the patient,” Sharma said. “There's a lot of really important team collaboration that goes on to ensure that a Veteran gets the safest and highest quality stem cell product.”

Innovation 

TVHS is the only VA center that provides Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell Therapy (CAR T-cell therapy), a type of immunotherapy used to treat certain types of blood cancers like lymphoma and leukemia. This therapy programs the patient’s own immune system to effectively target and attack cancer cells where it could not before.

“The current FDA approval for CAR T-cell therapy is predominantly in hematologic malignancies, or blood-borne cancers,” said Dr. Garrett Booth, TVHS processing lab co-director. “But the future shows potential promise for other non-hematologist malignancies. We're excited to see where that growth opportunity goes so that we can serve, not only Veterans that have a blood-borne cancer, but other forms of malignancy and medical conditions.”

In 2025, TVHS performed the first VA bloodless stem cell transplant, offering a new treatment option for patients who cannot receive traditional transfusions. 

The FACT accreditation marks both a recognition of the program’s excellence and a foundation for expanding life-saving cellular therapies to Veterans in the future. 

Watch the full video here.