In this paper, we discuss the launching of a cooperative protocol of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for autoimmune diseases in Brazil. We present specific conditions of the country's health system which would affect the trial, preliminary results of the first nine patients transplanted under the protocol (4 systemic lupus, 3 multiple sclerosis, one systemic sclerosis and one overlapping lupus + systemic sclerosis) and future prospectives of organizing phase III randomized trials to answer specific scientific questions pending in the field.
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; autoimmune diseases; autologous transplantation; systemic lupus erythematosus; multiple sclerosis; systemic sclerosis
