High-resolution HLA allele and haplotype frequencies of the Saudi Arabian population based on 45,457 individuals and corresponding stem cell donor matching probabilities

We estimated HLA allele and haplotype frequencies of the Saudi Arabian population from a sample of 45,457 registered stem cell donors. The most frequent HLA alleles were A*02:01g (18.5%), C*06:02g (16.1%), B*51:01g (14.1%), DRB1*07:01g (16.2%), DQB1*02:01g (30.5%), and DPB1*04:01g (33.6%). The most frequent 5-locus haplotypes were A*02:05g similar to C*06:02g similar to B*50:01g similar to DRB1*07:01g similar to DQB1*02:01g (1.73%), A*02:01g similar to C*06:02g similar to B*50:01g similar to DRB1*07:01g similar to DQB1*02:01g (1.66%), and A*26:01g similar to C*07:02g ,B*08:01g similar to DRB1*03:01g similar to DQB1*02:01g (1.38%). Furthermore, we used the calculated haplotype frequencies to estimate stem cell donor matching probabilities for Saudi Arabian donor and patient populations under various matching requirements. These results are relevant for strategic donor registry planning in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. (c) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

This study estimated HLA allele and haplotype frequencies of the Saudi Arabian population, providing insights into stem cell donor matching probabilities and strategic donor registry planning in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.