Safety of vaccinating sibling donors with live-attenuated varicella zoster vaccine before hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Reactivation of varicella zoster virus (VZV), clinically manifested as herpes zoster (HZ) is a common complication after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The optimum prophylaxis for this disease has not been defined. In this study, we examined the effects of vaccinating donors with a live-attenuated vaccine with particular reference to their immune responses and the outcome of HSCT patients. Forty prospective HLA-matched sibling donors were vaccinated before HSCT. There were humoral immune responses in both sero-positive (P < 0.01) and sero-negative (P = 0.058) donors. Cellular immune response was assayed in 26 donors. Significant correlation was observed between cellular immune responses as enumerated by thymidine incorporation and interferon γ secretion (P < 0.001) and the latter was used in subsequent analyses. Significant response was observed in sero-negative (6/26) and a group of sero-positive (13/26) donors while 7/26 sero-positive donors showed no response. Thirty-four HSCT were performed. These patients have a lower, albeit insignificant, risk of HZ compared with historical controls and only 3/34 patients developed single dermatomal HZ at 6, 9 and 28 months after HSCT. No patients developed VZV-related mortality. Vaccinating donors with live-attenuated VZV vaccine was safe, but whether it confers a significant protection to the patients would require further study.