Vitalant Launches National Service Hubs to Expand Patient Access to Cell and Gene Therapies

Vitalant, one of the nation’s largest nonprofit blood and biotherapies healthcare organizations, today announces the launch of its national hub-and-spoke model for cell and gene therapy, anchored by customized service hubs in Phoenix, Denver, and New Jersey, with expanded services in Pittsburgh and Chicago also under development. These facilities form the foundation of Vitalant’s national hub-and-spoke model, designed to overcome critical barriers in patient access to lifesaving therapies. Each hub offers core apheresis collections and procedures, baseline testing, cell processing and short-term storage services.   

Since the first FDA-approved cell and gene therapies in 2017, hundreds of thousands of patients have become eligible. Yet, only about 20% have received treatment¹, largely due to timing constraints, bottlenecks in clinical capacity, and limited geographic availability. Vitalant’s new model addresses these challenges by leveraging its existing nationwide community infrastructure, decades of clinical expertise, and strong relationships with hospitals. 

“Cell and gene therapies are crucial for very ill patients, but patient access is a significant barrier,” said Becky Cap, senior vice president of biotherapies at Vitalant. “By leveraging our community infrastructure and presence built over decades, we are helping ensure these therapies are available at the right time and place with the right product for the right patient.” 

Each Service Hub is customized to the needs and infrastructure of its local community while maintaining the ability to serve more remote regions. Services may include patient and donor cell collections, cell processing, cryopreservation and storage, as well as preparation of final products for clinical use. HLA testing is available at multiple hubs, with Phoenix serving as the largest site. Investigative and diagnostic testing is currently concentrated in Phoenix and Pittsburgh, with Denver coming online soon. Additional locations are under evaluation, guided by demand from healthcare and industry partners. 

On a broader scale, Vitalant is leveraging its extensive apheresis network, currently operating in 20 centers. Its highly trained apheresis nurses deliver high-quality, compassionate care for both donors and patients. With the flexibility to expand to 115 locations nationwide and longstanding relationships with more than 900 hospitals, Vitalant’s teams deliver on the mission by bringing their capabilities to local communities when and where they are needed most. 

Vitalant’s Customized Service Hub model also provides mobile expertise: licensed apheresis nurses operating under COMPACT licenses travel to support hospitals in scaling existing programs or building new ones. A recent partnership with UPMC illustrates this collaborative approach, with Vitalant’s Executive Medical Director for Biotherapies, Kevin Land, M.D., serving as interim medical director for UPMC’s Hematopoietic Stem Cell Lab to advance its cell and gene therapy initiatives. 

“This expanded national footprint is more than just infrastructure; it represents a vital resource for patients who might otherwise face delays or be unable to receive therapy, for therapeutic developers trying to get their therapy out, for hospitals and providers trying to give their patients a better option.” said Cap. “By creating capacity and increasing access points across the country, Vitalant enables patients to receive treatment closer to home, reducing travel burdens and allowing them to remain near their families and support networks.” 

Vitalant will share more about these initiatives and its growing capabilities during the Meeting on the Mesa conference, October 6–8, 2025, where its biotherapies team has been selected to present to more than 2,000 attendees from across the biotherapies sector. 

About Vitalant 

Vitalant is one of the nation’s largest nonprofit blood and biotherapies healthcare organizations, providing hospitals and patients across the U.S. a safe blood supply, specialized laboratory services, transfusion medicine expertise and world-renowned research. Vitalant’s biotherapies program addresses a critical gap in the rapidly evolving cell and gene therapy landscape, bridging the space between patient needs and the current capabilities of the healthcare environment. We connect hospitals, therapeutic developers and patients, enabling the delivery of care to the communities where patients live. Learn more at biotherapies.vitalanthealth.org. 

Reference: ¹ Cell & Gene Therapy Insights 2025; 11(6), 763–774 · DOI: 10.18609/cgti.2025.085