OBJECTIVETo analyze human leukocyte antigen (HLA) polymorphism and search for new alleles in Chinese Han population bone marrow registry donors.

METHODSDNA-based HLA genotyping methods were used including PCR-SSP, BST and molecular cloning.

RESULTSA total of 6965 unrelated donors, 4707 from South China origin and 2258 from north, were typed for HLA-A, B, and DRB1 loci. Seventy-two specificities of HLA alleles were identified. The HLA-A25, A34, A74, B41, B42, B53, B73 and B81 that were rarely reported in previously Chinese population studies were identified in this study. Estimation of gene frequency indicated that the blank gene frequency was less than 0.2% for HLA-A, 0.25% for HLA-B and 0.70% for HLA-DRB1 loci. Three novel alleles were identified and officially assigned by the World Health Organization (WHO) Nomenclature Committee as A*0253N, A*1114 and B*5610.

CONCLUSIONLarge-scale DNA-based HLA genotyping used in bone marrow registry donors is highly accurate and reliable for estimating gene frequency and searching for new alleles. The discrepancy of HLA gene distribution between South and North China Han population showed the necessity of setting the more regions in South and North China to screen the bone marrow registry donors for bone marrow transplant.