ANTIBODY SCREENING IN BLOOD DONORS CONTRIBUTES TO BLOOD SAFETY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53582/49gwhh37Keywords:
Keywords: Antibody screening, irregular RBC antibodies, column agglutination technology (CAT), indirect antiglobulin test (IAT), delayed hemolytic transfusion reactions (DHTR)Abstract
Screening for irregular red blood cell (RBC) antibodies is a mandatory test for every blood donation in accordance with national blood testing strategy. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, specificity and frequency of irregular RBC antibodies detected using column agglutination technology (CAT) based on indirect antiglobulin test (IAT).
A total of 252,641 blood donations collected between 2020 and 2024 were screened using pooled screening cells on immune-hematological analyzer (IH 500/1000). Antibody specificity was determined by using commercially available 11-cell identification panel. Donations were obtained from 205,532 male (81%), 47,109 female (19%), and 47,919 first-time donors (17%).
Irregular RBC antibodies were confirmed in 119 donations corresponding to an overall prevalence of 0.05%. The most frequently detected antibody was anti-M (33%), followed by antibodies of the Rh system (22%) and anti-K (15%) antibodies. Antibodies of the Rh system were anti-D (8%), anti-C (2%), anti-E (9%) and anti-c (3%).
Female donors showed a significantly higher prevalence of irregular RBC antibodies (0.11%) than male donors (0.03%). The most frequent anti-M antibody had similar representation in both genders, 0.015% in male and 0.016% in female donors, as a result of the rejuvenation of our donor pool. Also, in female donors more frequent antibodies were anti-K (0.03%), anti-D (0.02%) and anti-E (0.01%). Positive direct antiglobulin test (DAT) were more frequent among female donors (0.02%).
The low prevalence reflects effective donor selection and sensitive screening methods. Identification of clinically significant antibodies remains essential for ensuring transfusion safety and preventing hemolytic transfusion reactions.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Elena Ristovska, Tatjana Makarovska Bojadjieva, Emilija Velkova, Elena Petkovikj, Violeta Dejanova Ilievska, Bojan Todorovski, Elena Stojkovska, Marija Tashkovska
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