A Stable Reagent System for Screening and Identifying Red Blood Cell Irregular Antibodies: Application to Commercial Antibodies

OBJECTIVE: Development of a new solid-phase system for screening and identifying irregular red cell antibodies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Red blood cell membranes were prepared by a semi-automated procedure in which the hemolysate solution was passed through a hollow-fiber system. The membranes were fixed to the solid phase (microtiter plates) by centrifugation and incubated with 8% fat-free milk. Antibodies added to the microtiter plate were detected by anti-human antibodies adsorbed onto yellow latex particles. RESULTS: The system had good sensitivity (titer <1); 97% of anti-D samples were detected. The detection system was stable for 6 months at 4 degrees C. CONCLUSION: This stable-antigen solid-phase system readily detects and identifies red cell antibodies that are important in transfusion.