Probability of finding HLA-mismatched related or unrelated marrow or cord blood donors

Given recent improvements in the technology of transplantation and histocom patibility testing, it is now possible to contemplate using related or unre lated allogeneic hematologic stem cell donors with high degrees of HLA disp arity. This paper is a follow-up of an earlier publication on the probabili ty of finding a matched donor (Transplantation 60:778-783, 1995) and addres ses the probability of finding a partially mismatched donor. Assuming that a four of six antigen HLA-A, -B, -DR match is acceptable, it is possible to find unrelated donors for patients of any race from a putative registry wi th fewer chan 10,000 potential donors. Further, storing cord blood from new borns in families with a known generic disease would yield an acceptable fu ture stem cell transplant product in nearly 40% of cases. These results sho w the potential impact of cord blood donors and emphasize the importance of improvements in transplantation using partially mismatched donors. Human I mmunology 61, 834-840 (2000). (C) American Society for Histocompatibility a nd Immunogenetics, 2000. Published by Elsevier Science Inc.