Objective: To explore the effect of ABO mismatch on clinical characteristics in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT).
Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical courses of 148 recipients of allo-HSCT from ABO-incompatible donors, of whom 85 ABO-compatible recipients were used as control group.
Results: In ABO major incompatible group, the time of erythrocyte recovery after bone marrow transplantation (BMT) was delayed and more RBC transfusions were required as compared with ABO major incompatible peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT). The incidence of acute graft versus host disease (aGVHD), cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and survival had no significant difference between ABO-incompatible and ABO-compatible recipients for BMT, PBSCT and BMT+PBSCT.
Conclusion: ABO-incompatibility has no adverse effect on the outcome of HSCT. Allogeneic PBSCT can reduce red blood cell transfusion requirements and facilitate erythrocyte recovery as compared with BMT.