NMDP HLA Today
Get your patients on the path to transplant faster with free HLA testing at diagnosis
Every day counts when you see a patient at your hematology/oncology practice who may need hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) for a hematologic malignancy or severe aplastic anemia. The NMDPSM HLA Today program gives your patient access to no-cost HLA typing at diagnosis.
Whether you're starting to learn about HLA Today, ready to onboard and request kits or ordering more kits, start here.
Interested in using HLA Today?
Connect with our team to onboard to HLA Today. After your practice is onboarded, you'll receive your kits.
Already onboarded?
Order more buccal swab kits for your hematology/oncology practice to continue HLA testing at diagnosis.
Who can use NMDP HLA Today
Eligible hematology/oncology practices
Your hematology/oncology team is eligible to use the free program if your practice:
- does not have access to HLA typing or
- does not have a process in place to conduct HLA typing or
- cannot claim insurance reimbursement for typing
Eligible patients
You can use HLA Today for patients who have a condition with a risk of relapse and urgent transplant timelines including:
- Hematologic malignancies (e.g., leukemia, lymphoma, MDS, multiple myeloma)
- Severe aplastic anemia
Give your patient a head start with high-resolution HLA typing
Transplant centers ask for HLA typing to happen as early as possible after diagnosis—while the patient is still at your hematology/oncology practice. HLA typing is the first step to starting your patient’s donor search.
It takes an average of 100 days to get from a preliminary donor search to donor cell collection and transplant. That’s why incorporating HLA typing into your practice’s workflow is so important for patients with a relapse risk.
When you use HLA Today at your practice, you:
- Initiate high-resolution HLA typing early for your patient and eligible first-degree family members—at no cost and with no insurance approval required
- Start a preliminary donor search sooner, so transplant centers have information they need at the time of consultation
- Reduce delays when transplant may become part of the treatment plan
Many transplant centers nationwide use HLA Today results to begin treatment planning—before the first transplant consultation.
HLA Today allows us to shave time off the process. It allows the transplant center to already be leaving the station on a donor search before the patient even gets there.
COURTNEY BELLOMO, MD
Hematologist | New York Oncology Hematology | Albany, N.Y.
How HLA typing through HLA Today works
- Request HLA Today onboarding and kits
Step 1:
Express interest in getting kits for your practice by filling out our interest form.An NMDP medical science liaison will reach out to you within one to two business days with a few eligibility questions.
From there, you’ll complete onboarding information.
- Receive kits after onboarding
Step 2:
Your practice will receive kits within one to two business days after completing onboarding.An NMDP team member can answer any questions you have about getting HLA Today implemented into your workflow.
When you're running low, request more kits—no additional onboarding needed.
- Explain transplant, swab patient and return kit
Step 3:
As soon as possible after diagnosis, explain that transplant may be a treatment option. Give them free resources from NMDP to help them learn.
Swab your patient and return the kit in the pre-paid FedEx envelope.
Let them know they'll hear from an NMDP navigator.If the patient has a first-degree family member you'd like typed, you can request we ship a swab kit to their home (U.S., Mexico or Puerto Rico only).
- Receive donor search report and patient HLA typing
Step 4:
Within about 7 to 10 days, you’ll get your patient’s donor match report and HLA typing information to help you and your patient make treatment decisions.If you asked for family member typing, you'll get those results separately.
- NMDP patient navigator reaches out to patient
Step 5:
After you return the HLA Today kit, an NMDP navigator who specializes in transplant proactively reaches out to the patient with a call, text or email.They assess non-medical treatment barriers your patient may have, connect them to education, programs and resources, and help them understand financial assistance that may be available.
- Refer patient for transplant consultation
Step 6:
Refer your patient for consultation early even if you’re unsure they’re an HCT candidate. The evidence-based HCT consultation timing guidelines can help you determine when to refer based on your patient’s diagnosis, disease status and risk for disease progression.Remember, advances in HCT allow more patients to have transplant than ever before, including those who don’t have a fully matched donor or who are older.
If you don’t have a relationship with a transplant center in your region, talk to an NMDP medical science liaison or explore the U.S. transplant center directory.
Case study: how one practice incorporated HLA Today
See how a hematology/oncology practice and transplant center in Tennessee incorporated virtual consults and HLA Today into their workflow—and the major difference it made in speeding time to transplant.
This has been one of the easiest and most successful items we've incorporated into our comprehensive workflow. HLA Today is a huge benefit to patients.
HANNAH WALKER, BSN, RN, OCN
Oncology Nurse Manager | CHI Memorial | Chattanooga, Tenn.
Why early HLA typing makes a difference
NMDP HLA Today is based on a study of patients with high-risk AML that shows the clinical benefit of HLA typing and cytogenetic testing at the time of diagnosis. The research showed:
Better outcomes
after early HLA typing, rapid donor identification and early referral for HCT consultation
65% HCT rate in CR1
compared to the historical HCT rate in CR1 of 40%
37% improvement
in 2-year OS compared to those who didn’t have a transplant1
1. Pagel JM, et al. JCO Oncol Prac. 2020
Frequently asked questions
Ready to add NMDP HLA Today for your patients?
Take the first step by connecting with our team. After onboarding, we’ll send kits for your team to have on hand to use with patients who have hematologic malignancies or severe aplastic anemia.