The Italian quality control scheme for crossmatching procedures and HLA sera screening: the 2002 pilot study.
BACKGROUND
The first national quality control (QC) program of histocompatibility serum testing was performed in Italy in 2002.


OBJECTIVE
To monitor the performance of HLA typing laboratories while meeting the accreditation requirements of the European Federation for Immunogenetics (EFI), which require HLA typing laboratories to participate in external QC of their crossmatch and antibody analyses.


METHODS
The Turin Transplant Immunology Service was asked to organize a QC survey of 17 HLA typing laboratories in Italy. Each laboratory received 12 serum specimens and 6 blood samples and was required to perform 36 crossmatches and 12 serum antibody specificity determinations.


METHODS
Data of participating centers were compared to establish whether EFI requirements were satisfied.


RESULTS
In crossmatch analysis, the results of 32 of 36 crossmatches reached the 75% consensus target, with all the participating laboratories meeting the standards of the EFI. In antibody analysis, only 7 of 17 laboratories met the EFI standards.


CONCLUSIONS
The first Italian QC program shows that the participating laboratories obtained consistent results in crossmatching, whereas the results were less satisfactory in the determination of serum antibody specificity, where consensus was reached only with monospecific sera and antibody-negative samples.
Conca
Raffaele
R
Department of Genetics, Biology, and Biochemistry, University of Torino, Turin, Italy. raffa.conca@libero.it
Praticò-Barbato
Loredana
L
Dall'Omo
Anna Maria
AM
Amoroso
Antonio
A
D001788:Blood Grouping and Crossmatching / Q000592:standards*; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000097:blood*; D006650:Histocompatibility Testing / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D007753:Laboratories / Q000592:standards*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D011786:Quality Control
D006680:HLA Antigens