ABSTRACT
While allogeneic stem-cell transplantation (allo-SCT) represents a potentially curative therapeutic option and is considered the treatment of choice for an individual patient, there is only an approximately 25% chance that a human leukocyte antigen (HLA)- identical matched sibling donor (MSD) will be available. Therefore, the majority of patients who could benefit from allo-SCT require an alternative donor [1-5]. The prospect of using a haploidentical, partially mismatched related donor (PMRD), identified among family members, will be considered in this chapter and comparisons made to unrelated alternative donors who can sometimes be found in adult volunteer registries or from cord blood unit (CBU) banks. While availability and logistical differences between alternative donors can be defined, a clear preference in selecting between donor types for transplantation awaits prospective randomized trials.
