SCREENING AND IDENTIFICATION OF RED CELL ALLOANTIBODIES IN MULTIPAROUS WOMEN, AN INSTITUTION BASED STUDY

Objective: To screen and identify red cell alloantibodies in multiparous women by red cell panels. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Army Medical College and Armed Forces Institute of Transfusion in collaboration with Pak Emirates Military Hospital Rawalpindi, duration of study was from 1^st Jan 2018 to 31^st Aug 2018. Material and Methods: Permission from Institutional Ethical Committee was obtained and blood samples of 200 multiparous women were taken from PEMH Rawalpindi, selected by non-probability consecutive sampling technique. After preliminary workup of ABO and Rh D blood grouping, samples were screened by 3 cell panel to detect presence of red cell alloantibodies and positive results were further identified by 11 cell panel following manufacturer’s instructions. Results: Two Hundreds (200) multiparous women were screened for presence of red cell alloantibodies. The frequency of alloantibodies in multiparous women was 3% (6/200). Most prevalent alloantibody identified was anti-D having frequency of 1.5% (3/6), while other alloantibodies included anti e 0.5% (1/6), Anti K 0.5% (1/6) and insignificant antibody 0.5% (1/6). Conclusion: Our study confirmed that Rh antibodies were most prevalent alloantibodies, out of which anti D was the most frequent alloantibody in Pakistani population while anti e and anti K were present in relatively lower frequency.