Application of high-throughput, high-resolution and cost-effective next generation sequencing-based large-scale HLA typing in donor registry.

Next generation sequencing (NGS)-based human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing was used for ultra large-scale genotyping of registry donors for the China Marrow Donor Program (CMDP). More than 79,000 samples were subjected to HLA genotyping at 4-digit allelic level without ambiguities for HLA-A, -B, -C, DRB1 and DQB1 loci, with throughput up to 2068 samples per lane in a HiSeq flow cell (eight lanes per run), and cost reduced by 95% compared with that of Sanger-based typing. Two percent of randomly selected samples were quality control (QC) tested at 4-digit allelic level by the CMDP QC laboratory, yielded a concordance of 99.72%. These results demonstrate that NGS is a cost effective and valuable tool for HLA typing of registry donors.