Association Between Donor Leukocyte Telomere Length and Survival After Unrelated Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation for Severe Aplastic Anemia

Telomeres are long (TTAGGG) tandem nucleotide repeats and an associated protein complex located at chromosome ends that are essential for maintaining chromosomal stability. Telomeres shorten with each cell division due to the inability of DNA polymerases to completely replicate the chromosome ends. Consequently, telomeres are markers of cellular replicative capacity, cellular senescence, and aging.