HLA typing for family members
Available at no cost through NMDPSM HLA Today
When you request family member human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing through NMDP HLA Today at the time of your patient’s diagnosis, you’ll know right away if your patient has a related donor match. This can help you and the transplant center make treatment decisions.
How HLA typing for family members works
We’ll send buccal swab kits to selected family members when you request family member HLA typing. The kit includes instructions for swabbing and returning the kit for HLA typing.
You will receive an email with the typing results that is separate from the patient’s HLA typing results requested through NDMP HLA Today. That’s because the kit must be mailed to the family member and then returned to the lab for testing.
Selecting family members for HLA typing
When selecting family members for HLA typing, remember the following relatives are most likely to be selected by a transplant center as a fully matched or haploidentical related donor:
- Full siblings (highest likelihood of being a full match)
- Half siblings
- Biological parents
- Biological children
Hematopoietic stem cell donors must be in generally good health with no chronic illnesses that are severe or not well-managed and no whole-body autoimmune diseases.
Get started with NMDP HLA Today
The first step in accessing family member HLA typing is to get started with NMDP HLA Today. Request free buccal swab kits from our team so you have them available for newly diagnosed patients.
Your kits will include instructions on how to request family member HLA typing. For more information about family member HLA typing, email our team at HLAToday@nmdp.org.