Haploidentical vs cord blood transplantation for adults with acute myelogenous leukemia

Hematopoeitic cell transplantation is established as a curative treatment for patients w acute myelogenous leukemia. Haploidentical family donor and umbilical cord blood(UCB) are alternative sources of stem cells for patients lacking a matched sibling or unrelated do-nor. The early challenges of transplant complications related to poor engraftment and graft-vs-host disease have been overcome with new strategies such as using 2 units and increased cell dose in UCB and T-cell deple-tion and post transplantation cyclophosphamide in hap-loidentical transplantation. The outcomes of alternative transplantation for acute leukemia were compared to other traditional graft sources. For patients lacking a matched sibling or unrelated donor, either strategy is a suitable option. The choice should rely mostly on the urgency of the transplantation and the available cell dose as well as the expertise available at the trans-plant center. This manuscript reviews the options of alternative donor transplantation and highlights recent advances in each of these promising transplantation options.