The board-certified and fellowship-trained specialists at Norton Children’s Cancer Institute, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, provide innovative treatments and comprehensive care for young patients with bleeding, clotting and other benign (noncancerous) hematology conditions.

Norton Children’s Hospital is home to Kentucky’s leading pediatric hematology program and largest pediatric coagulation (clotting) center. It is the only location in the Louisville and Southern Indiana area providing automated red cell exchange for children with sickle cell disease. It also provides care for adults, creating a solution for patients and families who seek lifelong care.

Early diagnosis is the key for children experiencing bleeding, clotting and other noncancerous blood disorders. The Norton Children’s hematology team uses sophisticated tests to detect blood disorders. Ashok B. Raj, M.D., leads the hematology team as skilled investigators unravel medical mysteries and diagnose blood disorders from blood clots to sickle cell.

Collaborating With UofL School of Medicine for Your Care

Norton Children’s Cancer Institute providers offer skilled care for your child. These doctors are professors and active researchers helping to advance medical care in the 21st century through clinical research and education. Norton Children’s Hospital is the primary pediatric teaching hospital for the University of Louisville School of Medicine.

Our team includes board-certified pediatric hematologists, certified nurse practitioners, hematology nurse-specialists, social workers and others who care for children and teens

The Norton Children’s Difference

As home to Kentucky’s leading pediatric hematology program, Norton Children’s Cancer Institute offers sophisticated care for your child close to home.

Our pediatric coagulation center is the largest in the state, and our apheresis and photopheresis program treats a range of hematology issues.

We are home to the region’s only blood and marrow transplant program dedicated to treating children. Stem cell transplants are used to treat a variety of blood disorders.

In addition, we offer access to clinical trials that could offer the newest treatments for your child’s condition.

Hematology Treatment of Blood Disorders

We provide evaluation and treatment for a wide range of hematologic (blood) conditions, including sickle cell disease, hemostasis and thrombosis, hemophilia, immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), von Willebrand disease and other platelet function disorders and rare anemia.

We customize treatment options for noncancerous blood conditions for each child and condition. Treatment plans may include adding or removing blood components (such as platelets or plasma), growth factor drugs and immunosuppressive drugs.

Norton Children’s Cancer Institute, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, features the region’s only pediatric apheresis and photopheresis program. Apheresis can be used in treatment protocols for many blood disorders.

• Apheresis (red cell depletion and exchange).
  We use this treatment for patients with a hematologic diagnosis, such as sickle cell anemia. Damaged red cells are removed and replaced with healthy red blood cells.
• Plasmapheresis
  With this technique, we replace a patient’s blood plasma with plasma from a healthy donor. We use it to treat conditions such as thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) or organ rejection after a transplant.

Children with other blood diseases, such as hemophilia, congenital anemia or aplastic anemia, might need regular administration of clotting factors or transfusion of blood cells, which can be done at our dedicated pediatric infusion center.

• Factor replacement – This treatment can sometimes be administered in the clinic or at home and involves replacing missing clotting protein (factor concentrates). There are several factor concentrates on the market. They fall into two categories:

• Plasma-derived
  Factor made using human plasma donations. They are then purified.

• Recombinant
  Factor made using human genes placed into other cells that make human proteins FVIII or FIX. They are then purified.
• Transfusion – A more traditional approach that supplies the patient donor blood parts plasma, platelets or blood.