difference between 8/8 and 10/10 match.

[pdiitdelhi0204]

Dear All,
My 24 month old son has been planned for MUD transplant in next one month. We got donor from USA which is 10/10 match.I just wanted to know what is difference between 8/8 and 10/10 match.

Thanx

[Neil Cuadra]

A basic match is based on comparing the donor's and recipient's white blood cell characteristics. Three pairs of HLA antigens are checked: HLA-A, HLA-B, and HLA-DR. Since there are three pairs it's called a 6/6 match if they are all the same. (HLA stands for human leukocyte antigen.)

Researchers have learned of other antigens that can be compared, to show even more precisely whether a donor and recipient are matched. If they add an HLA-C comparison to the test then that's 4 pairs instead of 3 pairs, so you can find an 8/8 match.

If they test an additional pair like HLA-DQB1 then 5 pairs can make a 10/10 match. If they test both HLA-DQB1 and HLA-DPB1 then 6 pairs would make a 12/12 match possible.

Not all antigens are equally important. I've read that HLA-DR is the most important of the three, followed by HLA-A.

If you were told you have an 8/8 match then it might actually be an 10/10 match too, but you don't know. It could also be an 8/10 match or a 9/10 match.