Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) is a therapy used to treat patients with hematological diseases. The success of the transplant relies on a HLA match between host and donor. The HLA is located in the Major Histocompatibility Complex in the 6p12.3 region of the chromosome 6. The HLA gene products are involved in the immunomodulation of the immune response due to their function of presenting peptides to the T cells. The HLA genes are the most polymorphic in humans and the most relevant genetic marker for clinical transplants and are largely used in population studies. The knowledge of the HLA-A, HLA-B and HLA-DR haplotype frequencies of bone marrow donors is an important tool when a patient needs an identical HLA donor, and there are few population studies similar to this in Brazil. The HLA typing was performed in the LIGH of the UFPR by the PCR-SSP technique. The most common haplotypes among the population studied were HLA-A*01B*08DR*03, HLA-A*29B*44DR*07 and HLA-A*03B*07DR*15. The search of a Brazilian patient for an identical HLA donor is usually hopeless and the understanding of the HLA frequencies permits a real foreknowledge of the success of this search. Success depends on the eventual registration of the perfect donor in the national centers of bone marrow donation. Aiming to increase the perspectives of patients who need a BMT, the evaluation of the HLA frequencies and the enhancement of the national registrations of bone marrow donors are crucial for the accomplishment of this objective.
HLA frequencies; bone marrow transplant; polymorphism
