title: The frequency of IgA-deficiency in the Austrian population. A protocol for large-scale screening by ELISA and a study on 3056 blood donors.
abstract: A protocol for large scale screening of blood donors for IgA-deficiency with the help of an ELISA is described. The ELISA method proved to be fast and reliable, the obtained data can be managed by electronic data processing. Donors were regarded as IgA-deficient when their serum level was below 10 mg/dl (normal values 90 to 450 mg/dl). At this concentration ELISA shows acceptable reproducibility (within +/- 15% limits). We found 8 deficient donors, i.e. one in 382 or 0.26%. Seven of these donors were totally deficient by ELISA, 2 of them having a strong anti-IgA in their serum. We conclude that ELISA is a simple, reliable, and inexpensive method for screening blood donors for IgA-deficiency.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Blutgruppenserologie, Universität Wien.
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Winter
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Manndorff
mesh_terms: D001782:Blood Donors; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004406:Dysgammaglobulinemia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D017098:IgA Deficiency; D008403:Mass Screening