HLA matching questions

amg

0 Posts
Reply HLA matching questions Posted on: Sep 22, 2011 at 6:57pm
Hi Dr. Braverman~ I've been trying to read up on HLA matching since learning my husband and I have 7 HLA genes in common ... I'm not finding very much helpful info out there beyond studies on Hutterites and HLA matching which is just leaving me with more questions and not seeming very relevant to my situation ...

So, I'd like to ask:
How many genes are there that can be shared ... if 5 matches between partners is significant and we share 7 matches, I'm just curious how many there are total?

The little I read about HLA sharing online referred to "inbreeding", etc., which made me wonder if, when I DO conceive again with treatment for our HLA matching situation (thinking positively:)), my husband and I will be at a higher risk of conceiving a child with genetic disorders than any typical couple (disorders or conditions that we might generally think of happening with partners too close together in the same family, etc.)?

With treatment like nupagen and trying to conceive naturally (assuming no anatomical, etc. reasons for infertility), should we have the same chance of conceiving as another couple of our age group (I'm 36, he's 37)? I guess I'm just thinking in terms of having recently received several cycles of IUI unsuccessfully, but now with the treatment/addressing the HLA matching but attempting to conceive naturally (at least for a few months), will this kind of bring us to a "normal" status as partners trying to conceive?

Just trying to process all of this ~ thank you for your response:).

Dr. Braverman

2026 Posts
Re: HLA matching questions Posted on: Sep 24, 2011 at 12:00am
I would really need to know the entire immune profile to comment on all your questions, but in regard to your concern about development this is not the same as reproducing with a relative where many major chromosomes are shared and the risk of abnormal mental development that you refer to . this is simply a risk of failing to turn off an immune response because of shared HLA molecules that are all coded for only on chromosome number 6. If you were to take this embryo and place it into a uterine cavity where there was not an HLA match the child would develop perfectly. There are hundreds of different combinations of HLA genes so seven matches is unlikely(and my experience is also not common).
Braverman Medical Team
Braverman Reproductive Immunology P.C.