BACKGROUND Blood transfusion is an integral part of the supportive care for patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) and thalassaemia. The hazard of red cell alloimmunization, however, is one of the main complications of this therapy. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of red cell alloimmunization in Omani patients with sickle cell anaemia and thalassemia. METHOD...

We assessed the clinical outcome of pregnancies with non-Rh-D antibody in Northern Ireland using retrospective case note review. During the study period (April 1999- March 2000) 186 women with clinically significant antibodies were identified from the records of the antenatal laboratory of the Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service. Eighty-five women were included in the study using the cri...

although abo incompatibility between mother and fetus has long been suspected as cause of spontaneous abortion in man, its precise contribution has not been completely resolved. in spite of reports in which the incompatible mating was recognized to be a cause of habitual abortion, and which eventually results in infertility or a reduction in the number of living children compared with the numbe...

The discovery of the ABO blood group system by Karl Landsteiner in 1900 resulted in the description of the first human genetic polymorphism and the birth of Immunohematology. In the decades that followed, new blood group systems were characterized and the frequencies of their common and rare phenotypes were established in almost all populations and ethnic groups. Immunohematology takes advantag...

BACKGROUND Currently, no data are available on the prevalence of red blood cell (RBC) antibody formation amongst Kenyan patients with multiple transfusion needs, such as patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) or haematological malignancies (HM) and solid (SM) malignancies. OBJECTIVES We determined the prevalence and specificities of RBC alloantibodies and autoantibodies in two patient groups...

OBJECTIVE To determine the rates of red blood cell and leukocyte alloimmunization in patients with chronic kidney disease awaiting kidney transplantation. METHODS In this cross-sectional and prospective study, the serum of 393 chronic kidney disease patients on a transplant waiting list in Ceará, Northeastern Brazil were tested for red cell and leukocyte antibodies. In addition, demographic, ...

Complement is one of the major effector pathways by which antibodies destroy cellular targets to which they bind. C3 plays a pivotal role in this process both by serving as a direct opsonin after attaching to surfaces in the form of C3b and also by leading to downstream assembly of the membrane attack complex. In addition to fixation of C3, antibodies can opsonize cellular targets through ligat...