AUTHOR=Zhang Qiuheng , Locke Arlene F. , Alvarez Andrea Carolina , Cabarong Maria L. , Liv Lek Ching , Alfaro Belen Garcia P. , Gjertson David W. , Reed Elaine F. 

TITLE=Advancing precision in histocompatibility and immunogenetics: a comprehensive review of the UCLA exchange program

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2024.1352764

DOI=10.3389/fgene.2024.1352764

ISSN=1664-8021

ABSTRACT=<p>Precise typing of human leukocyte antigens (HLA) is crucial for clinical hematopoietic stem cell and solid organ transplantations, transfusion medicine, HLA-related disease association, and drug hypersensitivity analysis. The UCLA Cell Exchange program has played a vital role in providing educational and proficiency testing surveys to HLA laboratories worldwide for the past 5 decades. This article highlights the significant contribution of the UCLA Cell and DNA Exchange Programs in advancing HLA antibody testing, genotyping, crossmatches, and, more recently, virtual crossmatches. Additionally, we discuss future directions of the UCLA Cell Exchange program to support histocompatibility testing to adapt to the fast-evolving field of immunotherapy, tolerance and xenotransplantation.</p>