Quality control for registry HLA data.

In this panel discussion, the following issues were addressed: the evaluation of the quality of the volunteer donors human leukocyte antigen (HLA) assignments, the quality criteria that should be met by the laboratories, the source of errors, the measures that registries can take to assess the quality of HLA testing, and the updating of the initial result with emphasis on resolution of typing discrepancies. Several relevant factors were put forward: the need for the registries to define the HLA loci and the level of resolution requested, and the importance of the accreditation programs with adequate external proficiency testing. The feasibility of annual quality controls of a national registry addressing the limitations of HLA class I serology, and the rules set up by a large registry to incorporate new data on donors HLA types and to rapidly track typing discrepancies, were reported.