title: Comparing the tube and gel techniques for ABO antibody titration, as performed in three European centers.
abstract: Data from 60 consecutive ABO-incompatible kidney transplantations performed in Stockholm, Sweden; Freiburg, Germany; and Uppsala, Sweden, revealed significant variation in preoperative A/B antibody levels, with median titers of 1:32, 1:128, and 1:8, respectively. We wanted to investigate whether these differences were method-related. The same samples from 21 healthy blood donors were analyzed in the three centers using current local methods. Results confirmed method-related differences, with higher A/B titers in Freiburg and lower titers in Uppsala compared with Stockholm. Results for the same sample differed by a median of three (range 0 to 6) titer steps. When the same number of samples were analyzed in the three centers using the same gel method and the same test erythrocytes, results differed by a median of one titer step (range 0 to 4) for the same sample. In conclusion, gel hemagglutination technique significantly decreases intercenter variation compared with tube technique.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Immunology and Transfusion Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden. gunilla.kumlien@karolinska.se
authors.forename: Gunilla
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kumlien
authors.forename: Jochen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wilpert
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Säfwenberg
authors.forename: Gunnar
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tydén
mesh_terms: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System; D001787:Blood Group Incompatibility; D005060:Europe; D005858:Germany; D006384:Hemagglutination; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000737:chemistry; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000737:chemistry; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D019520:Living Donors; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013548:Sweden; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents