Haploidentical Bone Marrow Transplantation in 2015 and Beyond

On the face of the lack of HLA-identical sibling stem cell donors for all individuals needing an allograft, the use of alternative donors is gaining popularity. Matched unrelated donors and cord bloods have become very expensive and unaffordable for most people living in developing countries. Grafting allogeneic haploidentical stem cells has become an option with a great future, mainly if the procedure is conducted in a way to cut down expenses, such as the use of reduced-intensity conditioning regimens, outpatient conduction of the procedures, and use of post-transplant cyclophosphamide. The long-term results of allografting haploidentical stem cells seem to be similar to those of grafting cord blood stem cells. The improvement of the procedures to conduct haploidentical stem cell transplantation will most likely result in more individuals gaining access to this type of treatments, critical in the current practice of hematology.