Current aplastic anaemia guidelines and unresolved problems

The rationale and objectives of two current guidelines on Aplastic Anemia (AA) as issued by the British Committee for Standards in Hematology (BCSH) and the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) are introduced. Some details are given on the diagnosis of AA and on the standard treatment of severe AA, more particularly on human leukocyte antigen (HLA) identical sibling hemopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), immunosuppressive therapy (IST), and unrelated donor (UD) HSCT. The treatment options for refractory patients, namely high dose cyclophosphamide (CY) without stem cell support, treatment with Alemtuzumab, and novel HSCT approaches are also summarized. It is highlighted that the EBMT seeks to encourage all centers to contribute to new advances in treatments and scientific developments in AA.