Jada Bascom Foundation
All conditions

Autoimmune conditions

Systemic lupus erythematosus

Also called: SLE · lupus · systemic LE · Disseminated lupus erythematosus · Systemic lupus

What a donor has to do with this

A transplant is not a standard part of treating this condition. It is used rarely, in particular situations, and most people diagnosed with it will not have one.

This is our reading of published transplant guidelines for this condition, not a measurement of how many people need a donor. Where a source actually counted donors, the figure and the people it counted are shown further down. Where none did, we say so rather than estimate.

This page is not written out in full yet

We have not written this condition out in full yet. What is on this page — how a donor fits in, who it affects, and the sources behind that — is researched and linked, but the plain-English explanation of the condition itself is still to come.

What the evidence says

Who it affects
In the UK CPRD population studied for 1999–2012 and published in 2016, incident systemic lupus erythematosus was sixfold more common in women, peaked at ages 50–59, and was most frequent in Black Caribbean people.
Treatments other than a transplant
Hydroxychloroquine, minimized glucocorticoids, and organ-severity–matched immunosuppression such as mycophenolate, cyclophosphamide, azathioprine, calcineurin inhibitors, or rituximab are standard tools.; Belimumab (US/EU 2011), anifrolumab (US 2021; EU 2022), and voclosporin for lupus nephritis (US 2021; EU 2022) expand non-transplant options.
If a transplant is used, the cells come from
autologous mobilized peripheral-blood stem cells (dominant contemporary source); CD34-selected or unmanipulated autologous peripheral-blood grafts; bone marrow: not reported in the opened disease-specific sources; cord blood: not reported in the opened disease-specific sources
How often the donor was unrelated
Not reported. No source we could read states this for this condition, so we do not give a number. An estimate here would be a guess dressed as evidence.

Where this gets complicated

Responses can be deep, but relapse and treatment-related mortality in older series prevent routine standard-of-care status.; CD34 selection was associated with lower relapse in one registry analysis, but platforms and patient selection were heterogeneous and not randomized.; Modern biologics and emerging CAR-T approaches alter the comparison; direct randomized evidence against current SLE therapy is lacking.

Written for transplant clinicians, not for patients. We quote it so you can see what the guidance actually says:
“Current evidence and expert consensus suggest HCT in SLE as ‘clinical option’ in patients with active disease.”

It describes what teams consider in general. It cannot say what applies to any one person. Read the source.

Registries need people

An unrelated donor is not a usual part of treating this condition. Registering still matters, for the many conditions where it is.

Joining a registry is a cheek swab and a short health form. You are not matched to a condition — you are matched to a person, and it could be someone with any of the conditions in this library. You are contacted only if you turn out to be a possible match for someone, and you can ask questions and decline before anything else happens.

Find your registry

Related conditions

Others in autoimmune conditions. They are genuinely different diseases with different treatments — the group name is not a diagnosis.

Where this came from