Allo-Immunity to Erythrocytes in Relation to Blood Transfusion and Pregnancy: Cooperative Study of Allo-Immunity to Antigen Diversity in Asian Populations

• Published in: Blood 2009-11, Vol.114 (22), p.3144-3144
• Main Authors: Takeshita, Akihiro, Watanabe, Hiroko, Kim, Dae Won, Han, Kyou Sup, Kwon, So Yong, Suh, Jang Soo, Natalie, Chan Pui Ha, Nadarajan, Veera Sekaran, Marican, Nuranissa Bte Yacob, Permpikul, Parichart, Uchikawa, Makoto, Kino, Shuichi, Ohto, Hitoshi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0006-4971; 1528-0020
• DOI: 10.1182/blood.V114.22.3144.3144

Abstract 3144 Poster Board III-81 Allo-immunization to erythrocytes is an important issue with regard to blood transfusions, albeit perhaps less prominent than other possible adverse effects. Several studies including pregnant and transfused cases have been conducted in US and European counties. However, a sufficient international or interracial comparative study has not been performed yet. Asian populations contain a wide variety of genetics and circumstances. They may differ in immune responses to allo-antigens that are common among American and European populations. Because no confirmed nor detail information exists for many Asian populations, collaborative international study concerning these issues will improve blood transfusions and transplantations not only in Asia but also the world. (Method) Forty-eight institutes, including those in Japan (29), Korea (15), Hong Kong (1), Singapore (1), Malaysia (1) and Thailand (1), participated in this first cooperative study of Asian population examining allo-immunity to erythrocytes. The total number of independent cases included more than 866,000 patients. Ab screening methods adopted in these institutes included gel columns, beads columns, traditional tubes or some combination of these three. If a case was tested multiple times, we counted it as one case. Multiple antibodies detected during the study in one patient were separately analyzed. Patients with unconfirmed histories were excluded from the study. We analyzed and compared the frequencies of irregular antibodies (Abs) to erythrocyte antigens between patients of different gender, patients pregnant or not, and patients with and without previous blood transfusion. Abs were determined in 8,880 patients (male /female: 3,528 /5,482), including 1801 /2418 from Japan, 946 /1477 from Korea, 287 /688 from Malaysia, 214 /408 from Thailand, 237 /375 from Hong Kong, and 11 /15 from Singapore. Of note, anti-D Ab was more frequently detected in females (p