The study was purposed to explore the effect of panel reactive antibody (PRA) serum from patients with β-thalassemia on proliferation and apoptosis of the CD34(+)cells from cord blood and its mechanism. CD34(+) cells of umbilical cord blood were incubated with different sera and complement respectively. After incubation, the samples were centrifuged and the supernatants were collected for lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) detection, and the CD34(+) cells were harvested and measured for the apoptosis by flow cytometry with Annexin V/PI. The intracellular DNA synthesis were also quantified by [(3)H]TdR incorporation using liquid scintillation counter. The results showed that concentration of LDH in PRA positive groups was higher as compared with control group, and the DNA synthesis of CD34(+) cells in PRA positive groups were inhibited. There were no differences in the percentage of cell apoptosis and necrosis among different groups. It is concluded that thalassemic serum PRA impairs the cell membrane, inhibits the DNA synthesis, which can be increased by addition of the complement, but PRA had no significant effect on apoptosis of CD34(+) cells.