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Auayporn P. Nademanee, M.D., has a precious book of photographs: a visual gallery of lives saved and futures restored.

Each reveals a smiling face. And she can tell a story about every one.

The 10-year leukemia survivor who is now a lawyer. The patient who beat a cancer recurrence two years ago, now healthy and back to work. The woman who came to City of Hope as a new mother 12 years ago and has adopted two more children since.

“They’re almost like family members, you know them so well,” Nademanee said. “It’s very gratifying to not just save life, but see them get well and get back to their families.”

Known affectionately as “Dr. Nadee” by her colleagues and patients, Nademanee joined City of Hope’s faculty in 1981. A professor in the Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, she has directed the Matched Unrelated Donor Program for 15 years. She focuses on treating some of the most difficult cases: patients whose lives depend on transplants of cells from complete strangers.

Nademanee studied medicine at Chulalongkorn University in her native Thailand. She became fascinated with hematology and pursued that specialty as a fellow at the University of Southern California. There, she received mentorship from Alexandra Levine, M.D., M.A.C.P., now City of Hope’s chief medical officer.

“Dr. Levine was a world expert on lymphoma, and I had the opportunity to work with her and observe her. She inspired me to develop interest in lymphoma,” said Nademanee.

When Nademanee signed on at City of Hope, under direction of Karl Blume, M.D., and Stephen J. Forman, M.D., she learned to perform hematopoietic cell transplantation — a therapy for leukemia, lymphoma and other life-threatening illnesses of the blood and immune system. The procedure uses stem cells to reboot healthy blood production.

The transplant regimen can be harsh, often requiring high-dose chemotherapy. There is special danger for patients receiving stem cells from genetically matched unrelated donors. They can face complications, including graft-versus-host disease. In this illness, the transplanted immune system attacks the patient’s own cells.

Committed to safeguarding these patients, Nademanee and the Matched Unrelated Donor Program have earned a strong reputation backed by unparalleled results. The National Marrow Donor Program recently singled out her program as the only one nationwide to achieve above-expected survival rates for five consecutive years.

Nademanee credits teamwork for her program’s success.

“It’s a team approach from the start. Not only the doctors, but all the people involved in the team. The nursing care, the outpatient, the nurses in the clinics, the patient and family. Everyone is involved,” she said.

The ultimate payoff arrives when Nademanee and her team help a patient back onto the path interrupted by disease. Her photo album is thick, but there is always room for another picture.

“When a patient makes it, it is such a great thing,” she said. “It’s a joy for everyone, not just me. We know we overcame this together.”

More Faces of Hope >>