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Video Recording

Immunohematology and Genetic Testing (red cells, leukocytes and platelets)

AM25-MN-17-L - Uncovering New Blood Groups: Impacts in Transfusion and Beyond (Sally Frank Award and Lectureship)

Monday, October 27, 2025
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM  PT
Room: SDCC 33
CE: 1 CME (AMA Physician Credit) / 1 CE (Non-Physician Credit)

    Program Chair(s)

  • PM

    Paul Mansfield, MLS(ASCP)SBB

    Director, IRL
    American Red Cross
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    Disclosure information not submitted.

    Handouts

    • Award Presenter(s)

  • Sandra J. Nance, MS, MASCP, MLS(ASCP), SBB (she/her/hers)

    -Adjunct Assistant Professor
    University of Pennsylvania, Division of Transfusion Medicine and Therapeutic Pathology
    LANSDALE, Pennsylvania

    Disclosure(s): QuidelOrtho: Consultant/Advisory Board (Ongoing), Honoraria (Ongoing); University of Santiago: Honoraria (Ongoing)

    Handouts

    • Award Acceptance(s)

  • Thierry Peyrard, PharmD, PhD, EurSpLM

    Responsible Person of the French Blood Establishment (EFS)/Director of the Medical Affairs and Research Department
    Etablissement Français du Sang, La Plaine Saint-Denis, France
    La Plaine Saint-Denis, Ile-de-France

    Disclosure information not submitted.

    Handouts
This session will provide a look at the process of characterization of antibodies to an antigen of undetermined specificity, while highlighting the role and crucial expertise of all stakeholders at the reference laboratory (medical technologists, supervisors, laboratory directors, researchers) in resolving these complex cases. This session will also aim to illustrate how this type of discovery can have major implications not only in the field of transfusion medicine but also in many other medical disciplines, such as oncology, toxicology, neurology, and hematology. 

Recognition: This award was established in 1982 in memory of Sally Frank and her dedication to red cell serology and education, and funded through an endowment from Sally Frank’s family, friends, and colleagues.

Learning Objectives:

  • Describe how to investigate antibodies to a high-prevalence antigen of undetermined specificity and stress the importance to pursue laboratory investigations to their conclusion, for both clinical and scientific purposes
  • Discuss the essential value of omics tools (proteomics, genomics) and cellular expression models in the full characterization of new blood group systems
  • Outline how null phenotypes potentially associated with new blood group systems represent a unique resource for a better understanding of human physiology and pathophysiology