White Blood Cell Antibodies

LEUKOCYTES are known to carry transplantation antigens both in animals¹and in man.²,³Should transfusions of blood from one individual to another, therefore, be considered as a homograft and to what extent do blood transfusions sensitize for a subsequent graft? It is known that whereas in stored blood the leukocytes are not well preserved,⁴⁻⁶they survive nicely in freshly drawn heparinized blood.⁷,⁸It is not surprising, therefore, that leukocyte antibodies have been demonstrated following massive transfusions of fresh blood containing living leukocytes. Using the approach of Walford and his colleagues,⁸⁻¹⁰we have sought to further investigate this problem by examining the sera of patients undergoing open heart surgery. During cardiopulmonary bypass, the patient receives a large quantity of fresh whole blood. Such a transfusion given to an immunologically competent individual should constitute, therefore, a homograft stimulus of some magnitude. With this in mind, we have