German Consensus 2013 On Immunogenetic Donor Selection Criteria In Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation

This paper presents the fourth German consensus on the selection of donors for an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) as agreed by the German Society for Immunogenetics (DGI) and the German Working Party for Bone Marrowand Blood Stem Cell Transplantation (DAG-KBT). It represents the common denominator of over 60 transplant teams and almost 20 immunogenetic search units taking care of over 3000 patients per year in Germany. While the first consensus marked the beginning of the transition from cellular and serological to DNA based methods, this consensus defines high resolution matching for the antigen recognition site of the five most relevant HLA loci as the "gold standard". The document addresses the search for related and unrelated donors as well as the various sources of stem cells, depicts a clear guideline where evidence is mature and discusses options in areas of ongoing research.