The Japan Marrow Donor Program, the Japan Cord Blood Bank Network and the Asia Blood and Marrow Transplant Registry

Abstract

The annual number of hematopoietic stem cell transplants in Japan is about 3500, which are performed by more than 300 medical teams throughout the country. The Japan Marrow Donor Program (JMDP), initiated in 1991, has recruited 300 000 volunteer donors, accepted 20 000 patients and has facilitated more than 8000 unrelated bone marrow transplants. The Japan Cord Blood Bank Network (JCBN), which started in 1999, has collected 20 000 cord blood units and facilitated 4000 cord blood transplants up to now. To fulfill the requirement for HSCT, international collaborations as well as domestic efforts are considered to be important for the future. The Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) and European Blood and Marrow Transplant Group (EBMT) initiated a movement to create a common clinical record form last winter and called on the Asia-Pacific Blood and Marrow Transplantation Group (APBMT) to join them. Globalization of patient and donor registration for HSCT has become realistic and this could contribute to both the further improvement of patient outcomes and to further donor safety.