| dc.description.abstract | Background: Currently, no data are available on the prevalence of red blood cell (RBC) antibody
formation amongst Kenyan patients with multiple transfusion needs, such as patients with
sickle cell disease (SCD) or haematological malignancies (HM) and solid (SM) malignancies.
Objectives: We determined the prevalence and specificities of RBC alloantibodies and
autoantibodies in two patient groups with recurrent transfusion demands at Kenyatta National
Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya.
Method: Between February and August 2014, 300 samples from SCD, HM and SM patients
were collected and screened for alloantibodies. Samples from 51 healthy blood donors were
screened for irregular antibodies and phenotyped.
Results: Amongst the 228 patients with viable samples (SCD, n = 137; HM, n = 48; SM,
n = 43), the median transfusion frequency was two to three events per group, 38 (16.7%) were
RBC immunised and 32 (14.0%) had a positive direct antiglobulin test. We identified specific
alloantibodies in six patients (2.6%). Four of these six were SCD patients (2.9%) who had
specific RBC alloantibodies (anti-Cw, anti-M, anti-Cob
, anti-S); amongst HM patients one had
anti-K and one had anti-Lea
. RBC autoantibody prevalence was 3.1% (7/228). Amongst the
healthy blood donors, the Ro
r, ccD.ee and R2
r, ccD.Ee phenotypes accounted for 82% of the
Rhesus phenotypes and all were Kell negative.
Conclusion: The numbers of transfusions and the rates of RBC alloantibodies are low
and the most important RBC alloantibody-inducing blood group antigens are relatively
homogeneously distributed in this population. A general change in the Kenyatta National
Hospital pre-transfusion test regimen is thus not necessary. The current transfusion practice
should be reconsidered if transfusion frequencies increase in the future. | en_US |
