Month 3 – There is no full match

If there is no full match, doctors can use a half matched (haploidentical) donor.

Each parent is a half match for their biological children.

A parent can be a donor even if they carry the sickle cell trait gene, but not if they have sickle cell disease.
Sometimes one parent can be a better match to you than the other. Your doctors will check.
Sometimes a parent may not be able to be a donor because of their health or age.

Half matched (haploidentical) bone marrow transplant is usually done as part of a clinical trial or research study.

It is a newer treatment and has more risks than fully matched bone marrow transplant.
It can cause more serious health problems because the donor is not fully matched to you.
Doctors understand the risks.
Doctors are getting better at half matched (haploidentical) bone marrow transplant, so the risk of problems is lower than before.

Half matched (haploidentical) bone marrow transplant

This is a newer treatment which has only been used for 15 - 20 years for people with sickle cell disease. It has more risks than fully matched bone marrow transplant.

Half matched (haploidentical) means that only half of the HLA on the donor’s cells are similar to the HLA on your cells.
This is only used when there is no fully matched donor. It can cause more serious health problems because the donor is not fully matched to you.
Doctors understand the risks and are getting better at half matched (haploidentical) bone marrow transplant, so the risk of problems is lower than before.
Half matched (haploidentical) bone marrow transplant is usually done as part of a clinical trial or research study, because doctors are still learning about half matched bone marrow transplant and trying to make it safer.

Different types of donors:

Parents

A parent is always a half match for their biological children.

Siblings

Some of your siblings can be a half match.

Other family members

Sometimes, other family members (cousins, aunts, uncles) could be a half match, but this is not common.

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) is on the surface of cells in your body.

All the cells in your body have the same HLA type.
Your HLA type is different from most other people.
Your body will attack cells from someone with a different HLA type.
This is why doctors are looking for someone with a matching HLA type.