Establishment of an immunoglobulin A-deficient blood donor registry with a simple in-house screening enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
BACKGROUND
Transfusion of blood products to immunoglobulin A (IgA)-deficient patients who have developed IgA antibodies can result in serious adverse reactions. To prepare compatible blood components for these patients, blood centers usually maintain a list of IgA-deficient blood donors. An in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to identify new IgA-deficient blood donors.


METHODS
An in-house ELISA was used to screen blood samples. IgA-deficient samples, defined as an IgA level below 0.05 mg per dL, were sent to the American Red Cross for confirmatory testing.


RESULTS
Seventy-three confirmed IgA-deficient blood donors were identified among 38,759 screened blood donor samples (frequency, 1:531). IgA antibodies were found in 39 of these 73 blood donors (53%), although only 9 donors had a history of adult IgA exposure (transfusion or pregnancy).


CONCLUSIONS
With a simple in-house ELISA, 73 blood donors were identified as IgA-deficient. From this number, 34 donors, without detectable anti-IgA in their plasma, were added to our IgA-deficient blood donor panel to maximize the management of our inventory of IgA-deficient frozen blood components.
Thibault
Louis
L
Research & Development and Medical Affairs, Héma-Québec, Sainte-Foy, Québec, Canada. louis.thibault@hema-quebec.qc.ca
Beauséjour
Annie
A
de Grandmont
Marie Joëlle
MJ
Long
Anne
A
Goldman
Mindy
M
Chevrier
Marie-Claire
MC
D000888:Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic / Q000097:blood; D001782:Blood Donors; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D017098:IgA Deficiency / Q000097:blood*; D012042:Registries
D000888:Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic; C049937:anti-IgA