Genes and stem cell yield (GeSty)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The genomic architecture of CD34+ yield from haematopoietic stem cell donation
IRAS ID
331779
Contact name
Andrew Mumford
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
NHS Blood and Transplant
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Bone marrow stem cell transplantation is lifesaving for blood cancers and other serious illnesses and is performed in more than 4000 adults and children annually in the UK. Stem cells are usually obtained from donors by first administering the growth factor G-CSF to mobilise bone marrow stem cells into the blood where they can be collected using an apheresis procedure. However, with this approach 40% of donations yield insufficient stem cells for transplantation, requiring donors to have further mobilisation treatments or surgical bone marrow harvests. Predicting whether donors will give enough stem cells may enable personalisation of mobilisation treatments to optimise cell yields and improve outcomes for donors and recipients. However, the clinical and genetic features of donors that predict stem cell yield are not fully understood so this approach isn’t currently feasible.
This research will address this gap by analysing clinical and genetic information available from 5000 stem cell donors in the British Bone Marrow and Anthony Nolan registries. A comprehensive list of genetic factors linked to stem cell yield will be identified using a genome-wide association study which has never previously been applied to study stem cell yield. How well genetic factors predict stem cell yield will be compared to prediction using other donor features such as age, ethnicity or blood counts. This will give a powerful tool for predicting stem cell yield that can easily be applied when future donors join bone marrow registries. This will also support future research exploring personalised mobilisation treatments for different donors.
REC name
East of England - Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/EE/0007
Date of REC Opinion
17 Jan 2024
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion