Matched unrelated donor (MUD) transplantations for ALL and AML

Arnon Nagler, MD, from Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel, gives an overview of matched unrelated donor (MUD) transplantation for acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). MUD transplantation means that the transplant is from an unrelated donor. For AML, a transplant is the only curative treatment to date according to Prof Nagler. The issues with transplantation is graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) and finding an eligible donor. Unrelated donors are volunteers and due to advances in the field of transplantation, outcomes in patients who have received a transplant from an unrelated donor compared to patients who have received a transplant from a sibling, are the same in AML. Prof Nagler explains that the results for patients with ALL who receive a transplant from an unrelated donor, are also improving.
Recorded at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT), held in Valencia, Spain.