563Patients with low ST2 values had lower mortality without relapse than patients with
high ST2 values, regardless of the GVHD grade. Plasma ST2 values at day 14 after
transplantation were associated with 6 m mortality without relapse, regardless of the
intensity of the conditioning regimen. ST2 levels measured at the initiation of therapy
for GVHD and during the fi rst month after transplantation improved risk stratifi ca-
tion for treatment-resistant GVHD and death without relapse after transplantation.
Improved Matching of Blood Transfusion
Blood transfusions are among the earliest forms of personalized therapies because
the blood groups of the donor and recipient are matched. Whilst blood transfusions
are inherently safe with the compatibility between the donor and the recipient being
tested using serological techniques, there is a signifi cant section of the population
that suffer serious illness and side effects after receiving multiple transfusions of
blood that is not a perfect match. These patients develop antibodies after some time
that reject imperfectly matched blood transfusions, a process known as alloimmuni-
zation, which can lead to serious illness and life-threatening side effects.
Bloodchip will provide the medical community with a much clearer picture of
the many different and often small variations in blood types, thereby allowing more
accurate matching of donors and recipients. The new test will be of real benefi t to
patients who currently receive multiple blood transfusions and require a perfect
match in blood types. Bloodchip has been developed by the Bloodgen Consortium,
a pan-European group of academic institutions, national blood transfusions services
in the UK, Germany, Sweden, Spain, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, and
will be manufactured by Progenika Biopharma. The Bloodchip test will literally be
a life saver for those who suffer from illnesses that require multiple blood transfu-
sions such as hemophilia, sickle cell disease and thalassemias by ensuring that the
patients receive perfectly matched blood to enable them to better manage their con-
ditions. Bloodchip has already been tested on 3,000 patients with the results com-
pared against the traditional serological test and will shortly be awarded the
European CE mark and undergo intensive clinical trials. Bloodchip has been widely
accepted by the medical community and will become the new standard for the test-
ing of blood types in course of time.
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