ABSTRACT
For pediatric patients with an increasing range of life-threatening and life-shortening medical
conditions, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is often a life-saving treatment
option. Nevertheless, although HSCT may enhance chances of survival, it is often associated
with numerous physical and psychological challenges that impact on multiple dimensions of
quality of life for the child and their family. Although the impact of treatment for pediatric
cancers on psychosocial functioning is fairly well established (1), the HSCT process adds
additional and unique stressors that deserve specialized attention from the multidisciplinary
pediatric HSCT treatment team.
