Five updates for World Blood Cancer Day

DKMS, an international nonprofit organization, founded World Blood Cancer Day in 2014.

World Blood Cancer Day — observed on May 28 — is designed to raise awareness about hematologic malignancies and the importance of stem cell donation to benefit the estimated 14,000 people seeking bone marrow donors outside their families.

In conjunction with World Blood Cancer Day, HemOnc Today presents five updates related to stem cell donation and transplantation.

More than a half-million allogeneic transplants have been performed worldwide. This commentary explores how transplants cure leukemia. Read more
Factors such as donor age and donor–recipient HLA match appeared to contribute to long-term survival among patients who underwent unrelated-donor transplantation for hematologic malignancies. Read more
A majority of hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation candidates who do not have related donors have suitable adult donors or cord-blood units through the National Marrow Donor Program’s registry. However, the availability of matched unrelated donors varies among racial and ethnic groups, and few patients have optimal donors. Read more
The use of peripheral blood stem cells for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients with bone marrow failure appeared more common in underdeveloped regions. Read more
A higher graft CD8 dose from younger donors, even if they are not related to the patient, predicted longer survival among patients with hematologic malignancies who underwent reduced-intensity conditioning allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Read more