Authors:
Frederick R. Appelbaum, M.D.
First 100 Words of Editorial:
Allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation can be a lifesaving treatment for many patients with hematologic cancers. However, less than 30% of patients have an HLA-matched family member to serve as a donor, and with the shrinking size of the average family in the United States, this percentage is expected to drop. The first successful unrelated-donor transplantation for leukemia was performed in 1979, after Robert Graves contacted Dr. John Hansen at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and asked whether a matched unrelated donor could be identified for his 10-year-old daughter, who had acute lymphocytic leukemia. Mr. Graves knew there was no…
Source:
The New England Journal of Medicine; 367, 1555-1556 (10/18/12)