Costs of Searching for an Unrelated Donor or Cord Blood Unit

Successful outcomes for an unrelated hematopoietic cell transplant are strongly affected by having a donor or cord blood unit that closely matches the patient’s human leukocyte antigen (HLA) type.

Searching for an unrelated donor or cord blood unit that closely matches a patient is estimated to cost between $3,000 to $22,500 (U.S. dollars). When the best match for the patient requires extensive HLA testing or is an international donor or cord blood unit, costs may be at the upper estimate range. The search estimate includes fees from the transplant center and the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP).

1. Preliminary search

NMDP costs: The NMDP provides this service at no charge.

2. Formal search

• Insurance coverage must be confirmed with the insurance carrier or third-party payor.
• The patient must be referred to an NMDP transplant center.

After insurance coverage is confirmed and the patient is referred to a center, the transplant center begins a formal search by requesting HLA testing. An HLA expert uses the results from the preliminary search to select the potential donors and cord blood units to be HLA tested and determine the specific HLA tests needed.

NMDP costs: NMDP fees vary according to the cell source and HLA challenges of the patient. (The upper range costs reflect additional HLA testing for patients with a challenging HLA type and patients whose best match is from an international donor or cord blood unit.)

• NMDP search activation fee: $750 to $2,000.
  This one-time charge is for all potential donors or cord blood units being tested for a patient.
• Potential donor, HLA testing: $4,100 to $20,500.
  This estimate includes:
  • DR testing, as needed.
  • Customized typing, as needed.
  • Confirmatory testing and infectious disease marker (IDM) testing. (Some transplant centers perform these tests instead of the NMDP.)
• Cord blood unit, HLA testing: $2,250 to $18,800.
  This estimate includes:
  • HLA tissue typing at A, B, C, DRB1 and IDM testing (performed when the cord blood was collected).
  • Confirmatory typing
  • Additional HLA testing, as needed.

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