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Unrelated Donor Searches

Hematopoietic stem cell donor registry strategies for assigning search determinants and matching relationships

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 33, pages 443–450 (2004)Cite this article

Summary:

Registries and cord blood banks around the world collect and store the HLA types of volunteers in order to identify matched unrelated donors for patients requiring hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. This task is complicated by the many formats in which HLA types are provided by the testing laboratories (types obtained by serology vs by DNA-based methods; high vs intermediate vs low resolution) and by the need to identify which of these diverse types are most likely to match the HLA assignments of a searching patient as closely as possible. Conversion of the assignments to ‘search determinants’ may be included within the algorithm used to select and prioritize a list of potentially suitable donors, either as an aid to matching or as a tool to optimize the performance of comparisons within large data files. The strategies used by registries to create search determinants are described. A set of search determinants, utilized by the National Marrow Donor Program, is provided as an example and is intended to initiate further discussion aimed at understanding the process used by each registry with the possibility of developing a standard process among registries worldwide.

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Acknowledgements

This research is supported, in part, by funding from the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), the Health Resources and Services Administration (#240-97-0036, NMDP), and the Office of Naval Research (N00014-00-1-0898, CKH). The views expressed in this article do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy, the Department of Defense, or the US government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oncology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA

    C K Hurley & M Fernandez-Vina

  2. National Marrow Donor Program, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    M Setterholm, A Howard & M Maiers

  3. UCLA Immunogenetics Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    M Lau

  4. Department of Pathology, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX, USA

    M S Pollack

  5. Fairview-University of Minnesota Medical Center, Histocompatibility Laboratory, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    H Noreen

  6. American Red Cross National, Baltimore, MD, USA

    D Kukuruga

  7. ZKRD Zentrales Knochenmarkspender-Register Deutschland (German National Bone Marrow Donor Registry), Ulm, Germany

    C R Müller

  8. Canadian Blood Services, Unrelated Bone Marrow Donor Registry (UBMDR), Ottawa, Canada

    M Venance

  9. Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    J A Wade

  10. Europdonor Foundation and Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands

    M Oudshoorn

  11. France Greffe de Moelle, Hospital Saint-Louis, Paris, France

    C Raffoux

  12. University of Dusseldorf, Dusseldorf, Germany

    J Enczmann & P Wernet

Authors
  1. C K Hurley
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  2. M Setterholm
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  3. M Lau
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  4. M S Pollack
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  5. H Noreen
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  6. A Howard
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  7. M Fernandez-Vina
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  9. C R Müller
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  10. M Venance
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  11. J A Wade
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  12. M Oudshoorn
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  13. C Raffoux
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  14. J Enczmann
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  15. P Wernet
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  16. M Maiers
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to C K Hurley.

Additional information

Joint project of the National Marrow Donor Program (CK Hurley, M Setterholm, M Lau, MS Pollack, H Noreen, A Howard, M Fernandez-Vina, D Kukuruga, M Maiers), the World Marrow Donor Association (CK Hurley, CR Müller, M Venance, M Oudshoorn, C Raffoux), and NETCORD (J Enczmann, P Wernet)

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Hurley, C., Setterholm, M., Lau, M. et al. Hematopoietic stem cell donor registry strategies for assigning search determinants and matching relationships. Bone Marrow Transplant 33, 443–450 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1704365

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