Antibody detection tests are used in pretransfusion testing to determine whether a patient has developed alloantibodies or autoantibodies. In most cases, positive tests are easily resolved using commercially available red blood cell panels. In some cases, however, indeterminate reactivity is seen, i.e., only some reagent red blood cells are positive. A portion of those cases remain unresolved even after extensive serologic investigation and after antibodies of potential clinical relevance against common red blood cell antigens have been ruled out.
Sandra J. Nance will discuss the available publications on these unresolved cases along with potential causes and actions/recommendations to ensure the best patient care. She will explain the importance of communicating to clinicians that, in some cases, specific antibodies may be identified in subsequent samples.
Sandra J. Nance, MS, MASCP, MLS(ASCP)SBB
Sandra J. Nance has provided leadership to the American Rare Donor Program, American Red Cross Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Laboratories, and the National Reference Laboratories for Blood Group Serology, Molecular Testing, Neutrophil and Specialized Testing. She is Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Division of Transfusion Medicine & Therapeutic Pathology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the former Editor in Chief of the Immunohematology Journal of Blood Group Serology and Molecular Genetics, and has also held leadership positions in the AABB, ASCP, ICII, and ISBT.