The Fifth Histocompatibility Workshop

The Fifth Histocompatibility Workshop, organized by Jean Dausset and held in Evian, France in May of 1972, had as its major objective a world-wide population study of the HLA system. Forty-nine ethnic and racial groups were studied by 75 different laboratories using 118 selected antisera. Results from this workshop provided an important cornerstone of HLA frequency data for many of the world’s populations; much of this data is still referenced today. Ten new HLA designations, each given provisional nomenclature, were defined in the workshop: W16, W21, W23, W24, W25, W26, W29, W30, W31 and W32.

Reference: Dausset J, Colombani J, eds. Histocompatibility Testing 1972. Copenhagen: Munksgaard, 1973.