Case 1999-354
In situations such as blood transfusions and pregnancy, contact between different sources of blood makes it necessary to screen blood types to identify mutually incompatible immunogenic factors. Standard hemagglutination tests for blood typing are slower and more complicated in the case of the Rh (D) red blood cell (RBC) factor, however, since secondary reagents or enzymatic treatments have to be employed in order to give anti-Rh (D) antibodies sufficient access to the appropriate antigens.
To make Rh (D) phenotyping of RBCs easier and faster, researchers at the University of California have developed a novel blood typing reagent that quickly agglutinates Rh (D) positive RBCs in a single step. The UC blood typing reagent is a recombinant protein that can directly agglutinate Rh (D) positive RBCs. Although it functions in a manner similar to natural antibodies, the UC reagent has important structural differences that overcomes the obstacles antibody/antigen interactions. With its greater speed and ease of use as compared to current Rh (D) blood typing methods, use of the UC reagent may become the method of choice among blood banks and clinical laboratories.