What's involved in allogeneic stem cell transplantation?

Donor matching.: This involves two people: the (healthy) donor and the (patient) recipient. Donors must have a tissue (hla) type that matches the recipient. Matching is performed on three or more loci of the hla gene, and a perfect match at these loci is preferred. Even with this, immunosuppression is often needed due to graft vs host disease.

Chemo +/- radiation: The first part of an allogeneic stem cell transplant involves giving chemotherapy and/or radiation to the patient. Then the stem cells from a donor are infused intravenously. There are many risks and side effects possible with this treatment but it can help cure many diseases.