Comparing the tube and gel techniques for ABO antibody titration, as performed in three European centers

• Data from 60 consecutive ABO-incompatible kidney transplantations performed in Stockholm, Sweden; Freiburg, Germany; and Uppsala, Sweden, revealed significant variation in preoperative A/B antibody levels, with median titers of 1:32, 1:128, and 1:8, respectively. We wanted to investigate whether these differences were method-related. The same samples from 21 healthy blood donors were analyzed in the three centers using current local methods. Results confirmed method-related differences, with higher A/B titers in Freiburg and lower titers in Uppsala compared with Stockholm. Results for the same sample differed by a median of three (range 0 to 6) titer steps. When the same number of samples were analyzed in the three centers using the same gel method and the same test erythrocytes, results differed by a median of one titer step (range 0 to 4) for the same sample. In conclusion, gel hemagglutination technique significantly decreases intercenter variation compared with tube technique.

Keyword

A/B antibody

A/B antibody titration

ABO antibody

ABO antibody titration

direct agglutination

immunoglobulin G (IgG)

immunoglobulin M (IgM)

indirect agglutination

MEDICINE

MEDICIN

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)