Diseases studied at St. Jude include leukemia, lymphoma, solid tumors, sickle cell disease, osteogenesis imperfecta, AIDS and other immune deficiency syndromes. The patient must be previously untreated. The diagnosis must be clearly established and it must be for a disease under treatment at St. Jude. In general, the child should be between birth and 18 years of age to be eligible for treatment. St. Jude requires that the patient's diagnostic material be reviewed by a St. Jude physician before a patient can be considered for admission.
Final acceptance occurs when the patient is deemed eligible and is enrolled on a specific protocol.
St. Jude reserves the right to refer any patients who do not meet the eligibility criteria back to their initial physician. The St. Jude physician in charge of the treatment study or the Chief Medical Officer will determine the patient's eligibility. Financial Responsibility Patients are accepted for treatment at St. Jude based on their eligibility for treatment protocols. No children are turned away because of their parents' inability to pay. When no insurance is available, all treatment costs are covered.