HLA Typing in Support of Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation from Unrelated Donors

Advances in the field of immunogenetics of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system have changed the landscape of unrelated hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). The advent of molecular tissue typing methods provided an unprecedented level of accuracy in the characterization of the class I and II genes and the much needed tools for querying the genetic diversity and implications of human genetic variation on clinical outcome after unrelated donor HCT. Clinical application of DNA-based typing methods for registry donors, together with the growth of international donor registries, has greatly increased the chances that any given patient may identify a suitable donor and benefit from a life-saving transplant.