Here, Khaled Ghanem, MD, from the American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon, outlines the collaborative approach taken by his institution, local government and non-profit organisations to help deliver stem cell transplant therapy for patients with thalassemia. Dr Ghanem was speaking from the 2018 European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) Annual Meeting in Lisbon, Portugal.