Recent research presented at this meeting verifies the extent of the polymorphism of KIR genes and their alleles and shows their association with various diseases. Methods were described for the determination of alleles of several of the KIR genes in different populations including a novel allele formed by an unequal recombination event. Associations of KIR genes were found with several diseases: type I diabetes; psoriatic arthritis; and hepatitis C infection. Discussion took place on nomenclature issues of the KIR genes and their alleles, and a website has been developed to collect frequencies of KIR genes and alleles in various diverse populations.