Should a national bone marrow donor registry be established?
• To what extent could the existing registries/blood donor programs be utilized as a source of potential unrelated bone marrow donors? What would be the impact on these programs? • What are the logistic, legal, and ethical issues involved in establishing registries of unrelated donors? To what risks are donors exposed? What is the Experience With the Possible Alternatives To Hla-identical Siblings as Bone Marrow Donors for Transplantation? Are These Alternatives Comparable? The largest experience in marrow transplantation is with HLA-identical sibling donors. However, since only one-third of patients have an HLA- identical sibling, alternative donor sources are being used with increasing frequency. The alternative sources of marrow currently available are autologous (i.e., one’s own marrow), partially matched family member donors, and unrelated donors. The experience to date with these various methods is limited, and all of these alternative sources are under continuing development. Au
