HLA Nomenclature Changes effective April 1, 2010
With the increasing number of HLA alleles described, the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) Nomenclature Committee for Factors of the HLA System decided to introduce changes in the way the alleles are designated and named. These changes will be effective April 1, 2010.
The main feature of this nomenclature update introduces the use of colons (:) into the allele names to act as delimiters of the separate fields for all HLA loci. The change is seamless for most allele groups or loci; however all alleles of the A*92 and B*95 series will be renamed and will be grouped according to their appropriate loci, such as HLA-A*02 or B*15; some alleles of DPB1 will be renamed and will receive three digit names in the first field.
A detailed description of the HLA Nomenclature update can be viewed by clicking the following links:
http://hla.alleles.org/nomenclature/nomenclature_2009.html
http://hla.alleles.org/announcement.html
The American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ASHI) recognizes that these changes will have a considerable impact on HLA laboratories. These impacts include updating laboratory reports, revising laboratory management software, updating vendor supplied software for typing, and working with unrelated donor registries to incorporate the new nomenclature into search routines. Laboratories will have one year to integrate the nomenclature updates into laboratory analytic systems.
ASHI has been in contact with and working together with the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) to gain knowledge about the approaches that they are taking with regard to these changes. The NMDP has drafted a document describing the changes and approaches to accommodate this change. The NMDP announced these initiatives in November 2009. The link to this announcement is:
http://www.marrow.org/HD/HLA/index.html
The announcement states the NMDP will be able to receive results expressed using either current or new nomenclature for one year. After April 1, 2011, all results submitted to NMDP should be expressed according to new nomenclature. A copy of the document drafted by both NMDP and the World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA) is attached below. A link describing the future use of codes and the submission of results electronically to the NMDP is accessible through the following links:
http://bioinformatics.nmdp.org/index.html
http://bioinformatics.nmdp.org/HLA/Ver3_Nomenclature_Allele_Codes/index.html
It should be noted that the NMDP codes for assignment will use a colon character added after the second or third digit followed by the corresponding letter codes. Therefore, laboratories reporting allele codes will need to make the appropriate changes to accommodate the new requirements. The NMDP has developed software tools to convert HLA results to the new nomenclature that will allow transplant centers and laboratories to continue to perform donor and CBU searches with minimal impact during the transition period.
The Accreditation Review Board of ASHI, recognizing the impact on laboratories, will allow a year's time to become compliant with the new nomenclature changes for standard D.5.2.6.4 (Use HLA typing terminology that conforms to the latest report of the W.H.O. Nomenclature Committee for factors of the HLA System. Potential new antigens and/or alleles not yet approved by this committee must have a designation that cannot be confused with W.H.O. terminology.) During this time, laboratories should address these nomenclature changes with their Laboratory Information Systems staff to be sure databases and reports can accommodate the new format. All laboratory clients should receive notification and education on the Nomenclature change.
Additionally, ASHI has contacted vendors of commercial reagents and software with regard to the new changes in HLA nomenclature. Many vendors have indicated that they will have available by April 1, 2010 software versions that accommodate both old and new nomenclature allowing the users to schedule the implementation of the new nomenclature according to the laboratory needs. We recommend that each laboratory contact their vendors concerning the changes that will be made to their products, and how those will impact their laboratory's information systems.
Stay tuned for additional updates as they become available.
The main feature of this nomenclature update introduces the use of colons (:) into the allele names to act as delimiters of the separate fields for all HLA loci. The change is seamless for most allele groups or loci; however all alleles of the A*92 and B*95 series will be renamed and will be grouped according to their appropriate loci, such as HLA-A*02 or B*15; some alleles of DPB1 will be renamed and will receive three digit names in the first field.
A detailed description of the HLA Nomenclature update can be viewed by clicking the following links:
http://hla.alleles.org/nomenclature/nomenclature_2009.html
http://hla.alleles.org/announcement.html
The American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ASHI) recognizes that these changes will have a considerable impact on HLA laboratories. These impacts include updating laboratory reports, revising laboratory management software, updating vendor supplied software for typing, and working with unrelated donor registries to incorporate the new nomenclature into search routines. Laboratories will have one year to integrate the nomenclature updates into laboratory analytic systems.
ASHI has been in contact with and working together with the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) to gain knowledge about the approaches that they are taking with regard to these changes. The NMDP has drafted a document describing the changes and approaches to accommodate this change. The NMDP announced these initiatives in November 2009. The link to this announcement is:
http://www.marrow.org/HD/HLA/index.html
The announcement states the NMDP will be able to receive results expressed using either current or new nomenclature for one year. After April 1, 2011, all results submitted to NMDP should be expressed according to new nomenclature. A copy of the document drafted by both NMDP and the World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA) is attached below. A link describing the future use of codes and the submission of results electronically to the NMDP is accessible through the following links:
http://bioinformatics.nmdp.org/index.html
http://bioinformatics.nmdp.org/HLA/Ver3_Nomenclature_Allele_Codes/index.html
It should be noted that the NMDP codes for assignment will use a colon character added after the second or third digit followed by the corresponding letter codes. Therefore, laboratories reporting allele codes will need to make the appropriate changes to accommodate the new requirements. The NMDP has developed software tools to convert HLA results to the new nomenclature that will allow transplant centers and laboratories to continue to perform donor and CBU searches with minimal impact during the transition period.
The Accreditation Review Board of ASHI, recognizing the impact on laboratories, will allow a year's time to become compliant with the new nomenclature changes for standard D.5.2.6.4 (Use HLA typing terminology that conforms to the latest report of the W.H.O. Nomenclature Committee for factors of the HLA System. Potential new antigens and/or alleles not yet approved by this committee must have a designation that cannot be confused with W.H.O. terminology.) During this time, laboratories should address these nomenclature changes with their Laboratory Information Systems staff to be sure databases and reports can accommodate the new format. All laboratory clients should receive notification and education on the Nomenclature change.
Additionally, ASHI has contacted vendors of commercial reagents and software with regard to the new changes in HLA nomenclature. Many vendors have indicated that they will have available by April 1, 2010 software versions that accommodate both old and new nomenclature allowing the users to schedule the implementation of the new nomenclature according to the laboratory needs. We recommend that each laboratory contact their vendors concerning the changes that will be made to their products, and how those will impact their laboratory's information systems.
Stay tuned for additional updates as they become available.
If you have newsworthy information to add to the ASHI Web site, please contact kmiranda@ahint.com for consideration.