HLA Typing

A person's own specific HLA A, B, C and DR proteins. Patients are matched with stem cell donors or cord blood units by testing and comparing their HLA tissue types. Siblings are the first candidates to be tested for a match, since a brother or sister may have inherited the same HLA type. But even with siblings, there is only a 25% chance for a match, leaving 75% of all patients seeking a life-saving match from an unrelated donor.