Category: Testing
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The Role of Histocompatibility Laboratory Services at the American Red Cross in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
Clara Barton established the American Red Cross in 1881 with the primary objective of providing emergency assistance and disaster relief to people in the United States. The organization later grew into one of the largest charitable and nonprofit organizations, expanding its reach into blood product supply, cellular therapies, and tissue services. Leaders had the foresight…
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SPOTLIGHT On LAB WEEK: Red Cross labs advance patient care
Although far from the spotlight, medical laboratory scientists and other laboratory professionals play a vital role in health care and patient outcome. The work of testing, diagnosing, and treatment is crucial in saving lives—but the Red Cross takes laboratory services a step further. Improving patient care through innovation and decades of research lies at the…
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Case Study: Identification of a McLeod phenotype blood donor
Background/Case Studies: The McLeod phenotype is defined as the absence of the Kx antigen from the red blood cell (RBC) membrane. Kx is the only antigen in the XK blood group system. The Kx antigen is located on the Xk protein, which is linked to the KEL glycoprotein by a single disulfide bond. Absence of the…
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Making Blood Donation More Inclusive: The ADVANCE Study
In December 2020, the American Red Cross, OneBlood and Vitalant, together representing over 50% of the blood supply in the United States, initiated the ADVANCE (Assessing Donor Variability And New Concepts in Eligibility) Study. ADVANCE was a pilot study funded by a contract from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that could potentially lead…
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Unraveling the mystery: Anti-Jk3 and its peculiarities
The Kidd (Jk) blood group system was named in 1951 for the infant (John Kidd) who was born with hemolytic disease of the newborn. The Kidd system consists of two antithetical antigens with varying expression (Jka and Jkb), and the high-incidence antigen (Jk3) that is found on all individuals’ red cells except for those with…
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Don’t ‘Tick Me Off: Babesia blood donation screening
Babesia is a red blood cell parasite and the agent of babesiosis. Ticks naturally transmit it to humans; however, the parasite can also be transmitted through blood transfusion. Healthy individuals can be infected without knowing it or may experience mild, flu-like symptoms; however, the disease can be severe and cause death in 5% of infected individuals…
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How to Investigate those Pesky Serologic Weak D Samples
When typing a patient for the RhD antigen, hospitals have been forced to convert a non-binary result into a positive or negative for purposes of entry into the electronic health record as well as for selection of blood products including Rh immune globulin (RhIG). RhD is not unique amongst blood group antigens in demonstrating a…