Donor selection in T-cell-replete haploidentical donor peripheral blood stem cell transplantation

The effects of donor characteristics on outcomes after T-cell-replete (TCR) haploidentical donor peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) with post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) or low-dose antithymocyte globulin (ATG) remain unclear. We evaluated the impact in 1,677 patients who received a PTCy protocol (PTCy-haplo; n = 1,107) or low-dose ATG protocol (ATG-haplo; n = 570). A low CD34⁺ cell dose (<4 ×10⁶/kg) was the only donor characteristic associated with worse overall survival (OS) after PTCy-haplo (adjusted hazard ratios [aHR] = 1.49, P = 0.008), whereas increasing donor age by decade (aHR = 1.12, P = 0.008) and human leukocyte antigen 2-3 antigen mismatches (aHR = 1.46, P = 0.010), compared to HLA 0-1 antigen mismatches, were associated with worse OS after ATG-haplo. Increasing donor age was associated with a high risk of grade III-IV acute GVHD both after PTCy-haplo (HR: 1.32, P = 0.009) and ATG-haplo (HR: 1.22, P = 0.006). Offspring donors had better relapse-free survival and GVHD-free relapse-free survival than sibling donors after ATG-haplo. Our data highlights the donor characteristics associated with improved transplant outcomes after TCR haploidentical donor PBSCT with PTCy or low-dose ATG.