8/8 and 10/10 high-resolution match rate for the be the match unrelated donor registry.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional registry simulation study using pseudo-patients (design analogy)
PubMed 25307419 · doi:10.1016/j.bbmt.2014.10.002
What was done
Researchers evaluated the likelihood of finding 8/8 (HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1) and 10/10 (including -DQB1) high-resolution matched unrelated donors (URD) within the Be The Match Registry. A cohort of 1,344 randomly selected unrelated donors served as pseudo-patients representing White, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, and African American/Black racial and ethnic groups. Registry searches were simulated for each pseudo-patient at two time points (2009 and 2012), and potential matches identified by low or intermediate resolution underwent sequence-based HLA typing to resolve matching status.
What was found
From 2009 to 2012, 8/8 match rates improved from 68% to 72% for White pseudo-patients, 41% to 44% for Hispanic, 44% to 46% for Asian/Pacific Islander, and 27% to 30% for African American/Black pseudo-patients. In 2012, 10/10 match rates were 67% for White, 38% for Hispanic, 41% for Asian/Pacific Islander, and 23% for African American/Black pseudo-patients.
Why it matters
This study provides baseline match rates across racial and ethnic groups, demonstrating persistent disparities in unrelated donor availability, with minority groups—particularly African Americans—facing substantially lower match probabilities.
Limits
The analysis relied on 1,344 simulated pseudo-patients drawn from the donor registry rather than actual clinical transplant candidates. The abstract does not specify the sample size distribution across the individual racial and ethnic subgroups. Real-world donor availability, medical eligibility, and clinical transplantation outcomes were not evaluated.
Cited by
- context Patients in need of a bone marrow transplant are unable to find an appropriate donor match approximately 50 percent of the time.