HLA profile of the Macedonian, Albanian and Macedonian Muslim donors in the Macedonian Bone Marrow Donor Registry.

The aim of this study was to determine the HLA allele and haplotype frequencies of the volunteer donors from the Macedonian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (MBMDR). We analyzed 1541 donors, from different nationalities and presented the HLA allele and haplotype frequencies for Macedonian, Albanian and Macedonian Muslims, most numerous nationalities in MBMDR. Difference between the three groups was observed for allele frequencies in HLA-C and HLA-DRB1 loci. The most common haplotype in Macedonian was HLA-A*01-B*08-C*07-DRB1*03, while in Albanian and Macedonian Muslims HLA-A*02-B*18-C*07-DRB1*11. This study confirmed the close relationship between the populations that live in the Balkan Peninsula.