A new analysis of the Be The Match Registry ® has determined that 7/8 HLA match rates are >80% for all four of the most frequent patient race/ethnic groups in the United States - White (WH), Hispanic (HIS), Asian/Pacific Islander (AIP), and African American (AFA). Researchers analyzed 1,344 high-resolution (HR) typed potential unrelated donors (URD) in the Be The Match Registry who were randomly selected and treated as pseudo-patients where HR testing was performed to identify a 7/8 or better match rate. The highest 7/8 or better match rate was found in the WH group at 98% followed by HIS 86%; API 88%; and AFA 82%. Research has shown that using an HLA mismatched URD in early disease stage is associated with higher overall survival than delaying transplant to a more advanced disease state. The researchers noted that the baseline HLA match rates established in their study can be increased by accessing additional worldwide registries.
Buck K, et al. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant