Abstract
The establishment of the Japan Marrow Donor Program (JMDP) was followed by transplantation of unrelated marrow to treat leukemia and aplastic anemia, As of September 1994, 200 patients had received marrow grafts from unrelated donors, 55, 700 donors and 2, 329 patients had been registered in the JMDP, and HLA-matched donors had been found for 60% of the patients. Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a major cause of transplant-related complications after unrelated BMT. In order to reduce mortality from GVHD, patients should receive marrow grafts from the best donors, with maximum HLA-matching with unrelated donors. In an effort to increase the number of HLA-typed volunteers, the Gunma Marrow Donor Bank was established in July 1994 to support the JMDP.
