City of Hope National Medical Center

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City of Hope National Medical Center is one of 39 NCI-designated Cancer Centers and is located in the city of Duarte, California. City of Hope comprises an ambulatory and in-patient cancer treatment center as well as a biomedical research facility known as the Beckman Research Institute and the City of Hope Graduate School of Biological Sciences.

A major non-profit organization, City of Hope was originally founded in 1913 as a haven for those stricken with tuberculosis due to the dry, desert-like climate of the San Gabriel Valley and its ability to help ease the pain of those with the illness. Since then, the institution has grown to more than 300 physicians and scientists and over 2,500 employees, all of whom are part of City of Hope's work to find the causes of - and cures for - various forms of cancer as well as other life-threatening diseases, including diabetes and HIV/AIDS. The City of Hope campus is located on over 112 acres, and as of 2006, has 158 licensed beds, 84 of which are devoted to bone marrow transplantation patients.

City of Hope is a leader in translational research, and at any given time is conducting more than 300 clinical trials involving 30 to 40 percent of its eligible patients (compared to a national average of less than 5 percent). Some of the medical and scientific treatments based on research conducted at City of Hope include the drugs Herceptin, Rituxan, and Avastin. Additionally, a group of scientists at City of Hope lead by Arthur Riggs and Keiichi Itakura pioneered the research that led to the ability to produce synthetic human insulin. City of Hope is also an early pioneer in bone marrow transplantation, and has performed over 8000 bone marrow and stem cell transplants, making it one of the largest and most successful programs of its kind in the world.

Its primary medical center is the Helford Clinical Research Hospital, built in 2005. This 347,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility provides immune-compromised patients high levels of attention and comfort, and is designed to enhance collaboration between physicians, caregivers, and clinical researchers. The hospital offers one of the largest units in the United States for performing hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), including stem cell and bone marrow transplantation (BMT). The facility’s 144 patient rooms are equipped to accommodate all but the most critical patients, making possible a high level of daily care.

The work performed at City of Hope is supported by public and private grants, fundraising events, as well as gifts from private donors. Its fundraising efforts are directed by its Development headquarters in downtown Los Angeles, as well as satellite offices in Seattle, San Francisco, Phoenix, San Diego, Chicago, Philadelphia and Ft. Lauderdale. More than 290,000 volunteers and donors worldwide support City of Hope and nearly 20 percent of its funding comes from private support through charitable contributions.

There is always some confusion as Duarte residents and city officials travel throughout the USA and the world telling people(who have never heard of Duarte, but have heard of the City of Hope) of Duarte's claim to fame, only to be repeatedly rebuffed by other government officials and constantly reminded that the world-famous hospital is actually located in downtown Los Angeles(where their Development headquarters and fund-raising gift shop is).

The City of Hope's most famous patient is Anissa Ayala of Hacienda Heights, California, who(as a teenager in the early 1990s) was diagnosed with acute leukemia, so her parents decided to expand their family by giving Anissa a baby sister, Marissa, and using Marissa's umbilical cord cells to stop the spread of the leukemia.The plan was successful, and now Anissa is happily married and living in nearby San Bernardino County; her sister Marissa is now a high-school senior.