[Selection of donors for bone marrow transplantation in childhood leukemia (author's transl)]

The problems of immunological donor selection for bone marrow transplantation (BMT) are discussed: In acute childhood leukemia, the possibility of BMT should be discussed already at the time of diagnosis, in case the orthodox treatment of leukemia is not successful. The tests for donor selection should best be done during the first remission and should include the antigens of HLA-A,B,C,DR and D-loci as well as the Bf and GLO-Systems. It is important to include in the tests as many as possible first degree relatives in order to establish the inheritance of the HLA-Antigens. If there is no HLA-genetically identical sibling, it also possible to consider other relatives, provided there is genetic identity for one HLA-Haplotype and chance-compatibility for the other haplotype.