title: Strategies in haploidentical stem cell transplantation in adults.
abstract: Haploidentical related donors are alternative stem cell sources for patients without human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched related or unrelated donors. Immediate access to the donor, availability for patients with rare haplotypes, ease of stem cell procurement, and lack of a requirement for a physical cord blood bank or an extensive HLA database render this type of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation particularly attractive despite the high histoincompatibility barrier between the recipient and the haploidentical graft. In this review, we answer the following questions: 1) What are the current transplant strategies used to overcome the histoincompatibility barrier in haploidentical stem cell transplantation and their clinical results? 2) How should we choose the donor when there is more than one available haploidentical donor? 3) How does transplantation from haploidentical donors compare to that from umbilical cord blood?
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  None declared.
authors.affiliation: Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA ; Mercy Cancer Center, Medical Oncology, Hematology, Ardmore, OK, USA.
authors.forename: Ulaş D
authors.initials: UD
authors.lastname: Bayraktar
authors.affiliation: Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Stefan O
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Ciurea
keywords: GVHD; HLA; Haploidentical stem cell transplantation