Translation + Stem Cells = Research on Donor Types

Every translation project calls for varying depths and types of research. Some of my projects stay on the linguistic level (i.e. I choose the correct word based on my expertise in the English and French languages). However, some jobs require digging deep into science in both languages in order to accurately translate the text. Those projects are among the most challenging and time-consuming. Below, I describe an example of the latter from my work last week, including the steps I took in order to provide the best translation I could.

The translation subject

Hospitalization summaries for several patients who had received an allogeneic (from a donor, not from their own body) stem cell transplant and had a reaction afterwards.

The 3 most challenging French terms
​and their meanings in English

• phénoidentique - describes a transplant from an HLA-matched unrelated donor (MUD)
• génoidentique - describes a transplant from an HLA-matched related donor (MRD)
• haploidentique - describes a transplant from a half HLA-matched related donor (haploidentical)

The process and some resources

Looking at the French terms, it was tempting to just “Anglicize” them - haploidentical, phenoidentical, genoidentical (all being a combination of a scientific term with the ending identical). However, only one of those terms, haploidentical, exists in English. Try doing a Google search for those other two, and you won’t get a significant number of hits. This suggests that the terms have been incorrectly translated as such, but there must be more appropriate terms used by reputable organizations, universities, and research centers.

Once I realized this, I researched the terms in French online. For example, la définition de ….. and la différence entre ...

Here are two of the French resources that helped my research:

1. From Limoges University, a presentation on "GREFFE de CELLULES SOUCHES HEMATOPOIETIQUES"
2. From Lilles University, a thesis presentation on "GREFFES DE CELLULES SOUCHES HEMATOPOÏETIQUES A PARTIR D’UN DONNEUR HAPLOIDENTIQUE : UN CHANGEMENT DE PARADIGME"

I learned that all 3 adjectives described whether the transplant was from a related or unrelated donor and whether the donor was a full (10/10) or partial match in terms of HLA type.

With that understanding, I then scoured the internet in English using combinations of the words in the definitions: “donor” “stem cells” “related” "unrelated" “10/10” “HLA.”
​
Here are three of the English resources that supported my research:

1. From a newsletter, this article  is entitled "Half-Matched Yet Perfect."
2. From the Cancer Treatment Centers for America, an informational page entitled " Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant."
3. From the Cleveland Clinic, a list of terms about "Types of Blood & Marrow Transplants."

In conclusion

At that point, I was confident that I’d found the best translations and could accurately apply them to the project. If a project manager questioned my choice later on, then I would be able to justify it with reliable resources and a clear explanation.

The entire experience reminded me that sometimes the translation looks a lot different than the source term. Therefore, as a linguist, I have to do plenty of research when using scientific terms. I will say, in closing, that it’s this kind of linguistic problem-solving that keeps my work interesting.