ÚHKT - Ústav hematologie a krevní transfuze
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Department of Cell Chimerism

The department is integrated into the Complement of Laboratories of the Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion. It continuously fulfills the requirements for quality and competence in medical laboratories according to the ČSN EN ISO 15189 standard, the application is verified by the Czech Institute for Accreditation. The test methods within the scope of accreditation are defined by the Annex to the Certificate of Accreditation in the current version, which is available on the IHBT website.

The primary focus of the department is the analysis of cellular chimerism through genotyping and quantification of variable polymorphisms, specifically Short Tandem Repeats (STRs), using PCR followed by fragment analysis of PCR products on a genetic analyzer, as well as short insertions and deletions (indels) using quantitative real-time PCR. Initial testing is performed on patients indicated for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and their donors. This is followed by long-term monitoring of the post-transplant course in patients, where chimerism analysis helps determine the dynamics of graft engraftment and monitors potential recurrence of the patient’s own hematopoiesis, which may signal a risk of disease relapse. In cases of increasing chimerism after haploidentical transplantation, it is possible to detect whether there has been a loss of the HLA-mismatched haplotype in the patient’s leukemic cells. The laboratory also analyzes peripheral blood samples from patients after organ transplantation to determine the proportion of donor-derived hematopoiesis.

The Department of Cell Chimerism is part of the National Reference Laboratory for DNA Diagnostics. It organizes external proficiency testing and offers consultancy services.

The staff is bound by confidentiality according to the Health Services Act, 372/2011 Coll.

Confidence and high data security are among the basic priorities within the activities of the Complement of Laboratories of the IHBT. The established procedures are carried out in accordance with the Act on the Processing of Personal Data 110/2019 Coll. and Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of physical persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC. More information is available on the IHBT website.