Background/Case Studies: Epidemiological research on erythrocyte antibody frequencies globally provides a general overview of their occurrence across Asians, yet studies remain scarce in Philippine localities in which distinct demographic and genetic characteristics of Filipinos may be overlooked, posing a risk to blood transfusion complications due to erythrocyte antibodies. Therefore, this study highlights the importance of antibody identification in enhancing transfusion safety and supporting the development of rare donor registries. This research aimed to determine the presence of erythrocyte autoantibodies and alloantibodies and establish the overall occurrence with regard to age, sex, donation frequency, and clinical significance of detected antibodies.
Study
Design/Methods: Demographic data were collected via questionnaires, while blood samples collected from 82 eligible blood donors residing in Lipa City, Batangas were subjected to 11-cell antibody identification.
Results/Findings: The majority of blood donors were 30-39 years old, male, and lapsed donors, with none having any prior transfusions. Three clinically significant antibodies — anti-K, anti-Jkb, and anti-Fya — were identified with an overall occurrence of 3.66%, with 2.44% for autoantibodies and 1.22% for alloantibodies. Anti-K, an alloantibody, was unexpectedly found in a male donor with no transfusion history. Autoantibodies (2.44%) were found in a male donor in the 30-39 age bracket, and alloantibodies (1.22%) were found in a male donor in the 18-29 age bracket. It was noted that they are a regular and first-time donor, respectively. Conclusions: Lack of locally available data underscores the value of the low occurrence of erythrocyte antibodies. Thus, findings prove significant in the evaluation, improvement, and development of donor screening policies and foundational data on antibody occurrence.
