What is a haploidentical stem cell transplant?

Finding a fully matched stem cell donor is often a challenge, leaving children to wait sometimes years for a donor. Instead, our doctors use a partially matched donor who is more readily available, usually a parent. We then selectively eliminate alpha/beta T cells (the immune system’s fighter cells) from the donor’s stem cells to reduce the risk of graft-versus-host disease, which is otherwise a frequent complication of these kind of transplants. This revolutionary stem cell transplant method is led by Alice Bertaina, MD, PhD—the worldwide pioneer and foremost expert in alpha/beta T-cell depleted haploidentical stem cell transplantation.