Prevalence and specificity of clinically significant red blood cell alloantibodies among hospitalized patients attending a tertiary care center in the southern part of India: A retrospective observational study

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Alloimmunization due to red blood cell (RBC) transfusions may occur due to discrepancy between donor and recipient’s antigenic exposure on RBCs. A thorough literature search shows limited data pertaining to the rate of alloimmunization and specificity of alloantibodies in the general patient population. The main aim of our study is to find the prevalence of alloimmunization rate and specificity of RBC alloantibodies among the patients who were admitted under different clinical departments in a tertiary care hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our study was a retrospective observational study in which the patient data regarding their blood grouping status, alloimmunization status, and other relevant details were collected from the case records that were recorded between 2021 and 2022. Antibody screening of these patients was carried out using Bio-Rad ID DiaCell I, II, III Asia (Mia+), 3-cell panel with the lot number (45330.13.x). The specificity of these alloantibodies was identified using the 11-cell antibody identification panel Bio-Rad (ID-DiaPanel 11 × 4) which belongs to lot number (06171.47.x–06271.47.x). RESULTS: The overall prevalence of RBC alloimmunization in our study was found to be 1.3% ( n = 137). The most prevalent alloantibody in our study was considered to be anti-D (30.65%), followed by anti-c (18.24%) and anti-Jk b (16.05%). Females had a more significant association with the development of alloantibodies than males with P = 0.001. Patients with a history of transfusion also had a significant association with alloantibody formation ( P = 0.008). CONCLUSION: Since alloimmunization may result in drastic unforeseen responses in patients during transfusions, prior alloantibody screening may provide an additional safety layer in providing safe transfusions to patients. Hence, this study advocates the provision of antigen-matched RBC units for ABO, Rh, and Kell antigens.