Daratumumab was approved and introduced five years ago as a third-line treatment for patients with multiple myeloma (MM). This monoclonal antibody therapy, which targets the CD38 glycoprotein overexpressed on MM cells and also expressed on red blood cells (RBC), leads to panreactions in IAT. This situation has created major challenges in transfusion laboratories and various methods have been tested to resolve this interference. In this webinar, Sofia Lejon Crottet, PhD, will explain how a reference laboratory deals with anti-CD38, the various methods available, their pros and cons, as well as their financial impacts. In this review, Sofia will share with us case studies that demonstrate how pretransfusion testing can be efficiently completed. She will give an overview on factors to be considered when choosing a method for eliminating DARA interference.
Sofia Lejon Crottet, PhD
head of the Swiss National Immunohematology Reference Laboratory
Sofia Lejon Crottet, PhD, is the head the Swiss National Immunohematology Reference Laboratory. After receiving a Master of Science in Molecular Biology in 2004, she graduated with a PhD in biochemistry in 2008. Before joining the Interregional Blood Transfusion SRC in Bern, Switzerland, she was involved in protein analysis by EIS-MS, HPLC, amino acid analysis, and Edman sequencing at the Analytical Research and Services, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Bern.
She also coauthored a scientific book called “Human Blood Plasma Proteins – Structure and Function” that was published in 2008. Since 2009, she has worked at the Interregional Blood Transfusion in Bern. She started as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Research and Development with a focus on molecular blood group diagnostics and in 2010, she became the deputy head of the laboratory. In 2012, she joined the Swiss National Immunohematology Reference Laboratory as deputy head where she supervised RBC serology and molecular blood group diagnostic activities, reported the results of complex cases, and gave lectures at congresses. Since 2016, she has led and represented the Immunohematology and Reference Laboratory Swiss Transfusion SRC. In addition to investigating and reporting complex cases, she continues to give lectures and share her experience at national events, like the ones organized by the Swiss Association of Transfusion Medicine as well as international congresses such as the ISBT.