Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is used as a treatment option for a wide variety of hematological disorders. Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) is a systemic disorder that arises when the graft’s immune cells recognize the host as foreign and attack the recipient’s body cells. Its occurrence poses a major medical complication that limits the efficacy of HSCT and causes significant morbidity and mortality. New insights into the pathophysiology of GvHD have led to new developments in treatment strategies. Additionally, immediate survival is no longer the only concern after allogeneic HSCT (allo-HSCT). The burden of long-term morbidity borne by allo-HSCT survivors is substantial, and patients who received allo-HSCT have recently been identified as being at increased risk of cardiovascular events.

In this exclusive podcast, John Koreth, MBBS, PhD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, Eduardo Rodríguez-Arbolí, MD, MPhil, Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío, Seville, Spain, and Eleni Gavriilaki, MD, PhD, of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, provide the latest transplant updates, as presented at this year’s Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA 2021).