Donor search FAQs

You do not have to find your own donor. Your transplant team will work with Be The Match® to look for the best donor or cord blood unit for you.

The sooner your doctor starts a donor search, the better the chance you have of getting a transplant when you need it. There are guidelines on the best time to see a transplant doctor depending your diagnosis.

If you haven’t seen a transplant doctor yet, ask your doctor if transplant may be an option for you and if you need HLA typing. They can refer you to a transplant doctor and get your HLA tested.

Your transplant team can look for a donor while you are getting other treatments.

First, your transplant team tests your blood to learn your human leukocyte antigen (HLA) type. HLA are proteins — or markers — found on most cells in your body. Then, they look for a donor or cord blood unit with HLA markers that closely match yours. Because HLA markers are inherited, your transplant team will ask to test your brothers and sisters first. If you don’t have a match in your family, your transplant team will work with Be The Match® to look for a matched unrelated donor or cord blood unit.

If you have brothers or sisters that share your same mom and dad, your transplant team may ask to test their HLA. It is very unlikely that extended family members, such as cousins, aunts and uncles, will be a match for you. It is extremely unlikely that a friend or neighbor will match you. Ask your doctor who in your family should be tested. If your friends and family members are willing to help any patient in need, they may be able to help in other ways.

Each brother and sister who has the same parents as you has a 25% chance (1 in 4) of matching you. 70% of people don't have a fully matched donor in their family.

If you don’t have a match in your family, your doctor will search the Be The Match Registry to find a matched unrelated donor or cord blood unit. Depending on your ethnic background, the chance of finding a match is between 29% and 79%.

Your transplant team will look for donors or cord blood units that match all – or most – of your HLA markers. They also test and screen potential donors to make sure they are a safe and healthy match for you. They may also consider the donor’s age and other factors to choose the best donor for you.

Donors and cord blood units do not have to be perfectly matched for transplant to work well. Many patients have done well after transplant from a partially matched donor or cord blood unit. Ask your transplant team how closely matched your donor must be.

Every patient’s search is different. For many patients, the donor search takes as little as 1-2 weeks from the time a donor testing request is made until the lab has the blood sample and HLA typing results. Sometimes it can take longer including some searches that may require multiple rounds of donor selections. It usually takes about 3 months from when a transplant team starts to search for a donor or cord blood unit until the day of transplant.

Contact your transplant team. They will keep you up to date on how your search is going. They have the most accurate and up-to-date information for you.

The search costs are different for each patient. The costs depend on health insurance coverage, how many donors need to be tested, and where the donors live. Transplant centers may charge for the search differently too. Ask your transplant center’s financial coordinator what your costs might be. Find more resources and information about paying for transplant. 

If you have an unrelated donor, you won’t know who your donor is on transplant day. There are privacy rules in place to protect you and your donor. But, there are some ways you may be able to contact your donor after transplant.  

If you have a cord blood transplant, you will never have any contact with the person who donated the cord blood.