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Minimal required data

Organisations providing donor or CBU data, should at least include the following elements with valid values. Without this data, the records will be rejected during the validation procedure.

A DONOR record should include:

• ID
• BIRTH_DATE
• SEX
• HLA (including at least HLA-A (SER or DNA) and HLA-B (SER or DNA))
• STATUS

A CBU record should include:

• ID
• BIRTH_DATE
• HLA (including at least HLA-A (SER or DNA), HLA-B (SER or DNA) and HLA-DRB1 (SER or DNA))
• STATUS

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XML example files

We already provided you the XSD files, but these files do not show directly how an XML file with those definitions will look like. Therefore we created some example files: one for donors and one for CBUs.

Both files contain only 2 records, but in those two records almost all possible elements contain a value. It can help you to check the order of the elements in your own XML file. Please be aware that values like GRID are fictive and do not follow the rules for the check character. These two examples are based on the XSD files version 2.1.

Example donor file: ION-1234-D.xml

Example CBU file: ION-1234-C.xml

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File names

Registries with data on stem cell donors and cord blood units should separate these two data sets and provide two files: one for stem cell donors, and one for cord blood units. Data of stem cell donors and cord blood units should not be combined in one file. In the filename the distinction between donor data and cord blood unit data is made clear.

The first part of the filename is "ION-" (without the quotes) followed by the ion number and either a "D-" for donors (without the quotes) or a "C-" (without the quotes) for cold blood units. This <ION> should be similar to the one provided in the field <POOL>. The extension of the file is ".XML". Using this naming convention the name of the Austrian cord blood registry is: ION-2614-C.XML and the name of the German donor registry is: ION-6939-D.XML

After encryption, the file should follow almost the same name convention as for the xml file name, but then xml is replaced to pgp. So the first part of the GPG-filename is identical to the XML-filename. The GPG software will either add a second extension ".PGP", or replace the ".XML" extension of the data file with the ".PGP" extension. As an example, the file name of an encrypted Austrian cord blood file would then be: "ION-2614-C.PGP" (without the quotes).

If you are listing organisation and are also sending data from other listing organisations (with ION), you can provide the inventory of different POOL IDs together in one file. However, you should not combine donor and CBU data together. For the file naming, please always use the ION from the organisation that is sending the data.

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How to compress your XML file with ZIP

When your file is larger then 200Mb, you have to compress your file by using ZIP. If your file is smaller, you are also encouraged to compress your file, because the time to upload your file will be reduced.

Please find below some methods to compress your file with ZIP when you are using any of the operating systems Windows, OS, or Linux/unix.

Please note: When you are using another method to compress your file, like tar, we cannot decompress your file during processing and we have to reject the file.

Creating a compressed zip file in Windows

1. Click to highlight the file that you need to zip. Please note: BMDW can only accept your file when the zip file contains 1 file.
2. Right-click the file and select Send to > Compressed (zipped) Folder.  
3. Windows will create the zip file and will position the cursor where you can choose a unique name for the file.

It is also possible to first create your ZIP folder and then drag the file to your zip folder.

Creating a compressed zip file in OS X

1. Open a new Finder window and navigate to the file.
2. Click to highlight the file that you need to zip.
3. Select File > Compress from the pull-down menu. Sometimes you can also click with your right mouse button on the file and use the quick menu.
4. Finder will compress the selected file and will create the zip file with the same same as your file but with the extension .zip.

Creating a compressed zip file in Linux

1. Open a terminal session and navigate to the location of your file
2. To view a listing of directory contents, enter the following command: ls
3. Note the files to be zipped.  
4. Create the zip file by entering the command: zip {.zip-filename} {filename-to-compress} (e.g. zip ION-1234-D.zip ION-1234-D.xml)

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How to encrypt your XML file

BMDW will only accept pgp encrypted XML files for data upload. We will now describe how you can encrypt your xml file. If you have a very large file, you should first compress your file with ZIP before you encrypted your file. Please see the picture below for a schematic representation of the encryption en decryption process.

Encryption is performed by the organisation who is sending data to BMDW; decryption is performed by BMDW to be able to process and validate the data in your file.

For this encryption, you should use the BMDW public key.

This is the new BMDW public key: BMDW public key

Please note: This key is different from the key that you used to encrypt your DOT20 file.

STEP 1: Encryption program

The DOT20 file you sent before to BMDW also needed to be encrypted. The procedure is actually the same, but you now have to use the new BMDW public key.

Currently, there are several different software packages that you can use to encrypt and decrypt your files. It depends of course also of your operating system which programs you can use.

Here are some examples:

Windows: Kleopatra, PGP Tool

OS (MAC): GPG Suite

Linux/unix: GnuPG

GnuPG is a complete and free implementation of the OpenPGP standard as defined by RFC4880 (also known as PGP). GnuPG allows to encrypt and sign your data and communication, features a versatile key management system as well as access modules for all kinds of public key directories. GnuPG, also known as GPG, is a command line tool with features for easy integration with other applications. A wealth of frontend applications and libraries are available. GnuPG is Free Software (meaning that it respects your freedom). It can be freely used, modified and distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License . For installation on your Linux/Unix machine, please visit the following page for HowTos: https://www.gnupg.org/documentation/howtos.html

STEP 2: Import BMDW public key

After installing your preferred program, you have to import the BMDW public key.

• First download the key to your computer.
• Open your encryption program and look for something like import (PGP) key or import certificate. Click on this and then you have to upload the file with the BMDW public key and save the key.

For Linux/Unix, importing of the key in your gpg keyring can be done by using the following command:

$ gpg --import {public_key_file}

STEP 3: Encrypt XML or ZIP file with BMDW public key

Next step is to use the BMDW public key that you just imported into your encryption program to encrypt your XML or zipped XML file.

• In your encryption program, go to the function called encrypt or encrypt files.
• A windows with all your files will open. Look up the file you would like to encrypt.
• Following the steps in your program and make sure you choose the BMDW public key to encrypt your file

• Some programs work together with your file exploring program like Finder for Mac or Explorer for windows. If this is the case, go to your file look-up program and look for your file.
• Select your file and click on the right mouse button. A quick menu will become visible. Look for something with encryption or GPG or with a MAC it is probably under Services. This depends on the program you installed on your computer. Click on that and follow the instructions on your screen.
• Make sure you choose the BMDW public key to encrypt your file.

For Linux/Unix, encryption of your file can be done by using the following command:

$ gpg --encrypt --recipient ID {filename_to_be_encrypted}

where ID is replaced with that key's ID

 The short version of the above command is:

$ gpg -e -r ID {filename_to_be_encrypted}

In either case, a file is created with the same name, plus an additional .gpg file extension added to the end. Thus, if your file is ION-1234-D.xml, you will create an encrypted copy of the file named ION-1234-D.xml.gpg.

Please note: Do not sign your file. This will result in rejection of your file during processing.

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Explanation of Errors and Warnings in your processing report

After submitting a file to BMDW you will receive a processing report in your BMDW data upload service account. This document describes explanations of warnings or errors as you may find them in the processing report. In the explanations below you find references to various fields from the file format for data delivery. For details on these field names and the file format look in the tabs 'XML file' and 'File name' of this page.

The ID of the donor or CBU will be displayed as well. This helps you find the problem line in the file you have sent, and hopefully helps you correct the problem.

BMDW – Business validation rules applied

BMDW has additional business validation rules in place to ensure that even though the data supplied on a field level might be correct they need to have passed the validation rules applied sometimes on multiple fields to ensure correct data is being added to the GCD database. As part of providing us the XML your organisation should also perform these checks to ensure the validity of the data you are providing to BMDW. These rules will be published later.

File Errors

FileError: Empty file or file without data.

Explanation: When the size of the received file is zero bytes, or no data could be read from the received file, this error is returned.

Record Errors

 HLA/DNA Related Errors