The Nick Wilson Charitable Group

About Us

The Nick Wilson Charitable Group is an Oregon non-profit organization whose mission is to support children and their families undergoing Stem Cell Transplantation at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland, Oregon.

Stem Cell Transplantation is a procedure most frequently needed by patients with cancer for whom standard treatments such as chemotherapy and/or radiation have not succeeded in their cancer treatment. Other conditions such as severe cases of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and certain metabolic conditions may necessitate stem cell transplantation in hope of achieving permanent remission of the specific disease. However, the vast majority of stem cell transplants are needed to treat aggressive or relapsed cancers in hope of a cure.

Families with a child needing stem cell transplantation have already endured the stress of a childhood cancer diagnosis. Their child may have already endured hundreds of days in the hospital receiving chemotherapy or other treatments attempting to put their disease into remission. Stem Cell Transplantation requires the child to receive very high dose chemotherapy and frequently radiation to kill the their existing diseased bone marrow in preparation for new, healthy bone marrow. Healthy stem cells are then infused into the child’s body through an intravenous catheter where the healthy cells will hopefully be assimilated by the child’s body replacing the diseased immune system (bone marrow or stem cells) with a new, healthy immune system. From the time the child enters the hospital for transplant until the time the immune system has recovered enough for the child to be discharged typically takes about 30 days. For the next several months, the child is monitored closely in the clinic for signs of any number of complications that might occur as a result of the transplant. This may include infection or signs that the child’s body is not adapting to the new bone marrow called graft-versus-host disease.

What happens to the child’s family during this whole process? How does a family maintain an income, run a household, take care of other family members and also focus on the care and treatment of the child undergoing transplant? At the very least, it is an enormously stressful time for families to try to cope with how to best focus on the care of their sick child, while simultaneously trying to provide attention to all other aspects of their life. Families frequently must relocate to Portland for this specialized treatment. Where do they live, who takes care of the family at home, how does the rent, mortgage, utilities, and groceries get paid?

NWCG was founded to support families in this situation. Through the generous support of our donors, NWCG is able to provide urgent financial support to families who have a child in the Stem Cell Transplant Program at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland, Oregon, the only Pediatric Stem Cell Transplant Center in the State. This financial support helps families with the many expenses not covered by health insurance including funding for housing, medication and related co-pays, meal and food assistance, grief support, and many other urgent needs families may encounter during this time of crisis.

For questions, contact

Jill Metz
President, The Nick Wilson Charitable Group

503.890.7220