COMPATIBILITY TEST OF HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL BANK IN JAPAN

Abstract

The JMDP started donor registration in 1992. About 15,000 people register annually, the total number of donors was more than 210,000 and that of potential donors was 168,000 at the end of March 2003 (Fig. 1). However, this number is only about one-half of our goal of 300,000. The first unrelated bone marrow transplantation through the JMDP was carried out in the year after donor registration was initiated. The number of transplantations is growing yearly, 758 patients had transplantations in 2002. The total number was 4,752 at the end of March 2003 (Fig. 2). This number includes 10 cases transplanted with the help of the Korean Donor Bank. These figures are updated every three months and can be viewed on the JMDP web site. In 1996, a study group of the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare reported that HLA allele matching, particularly HLA-A and-B alleles matching, is important for successful BMT. Figure 3 shows the effect