Abstract
During the last two decades the importance of molecular biology in transfusion medicine has been growing. Reference centers for immunohematology commonly use molecular methods to clarify problems, discrepancies or unusual results in patient serology. Nowadays there are immunohematology reference laboratories that recommend using molecular genotyping for patient blood management. Our blood bank laboratory is not a reference center, but we routinely use molecular genotyping to solve serologic problems. Due to the proximity to the Syrian border, since the beginning of the Syrian civil war, our medical center has received hundreds of injured patients, some of them with unique features concerning the blood type testing. From our previous experience of such a case in Dec 2015, we realized that due to extreme war conditions and lack of medical amenities, severely injured patients are likely to receive unmatched blood transfusions in Syria, sometimes ABO-incompatible blood transfusions. The patients arriving to our medical center are usually in critical condition and without medical records. Serologic tests show double population (DP) blood type. Molecular genotype of blood samples is not helpful, because it can detect the blood type of the unmatched/incompatible donor. In these cases, we use molecular genotyping from a tissue specimen, usually skin. Until we receive the results, which take about 5 hours in our molecular lab, we give only type O blood and AB plasma. Since Dec 2015, 11 injured patients with DP on serologic typing were admitted to our medical center. Tissue genotyping was performed on 8 of these. We determined that seven of the eleven patients previously received ABO-incompatible blood in Syria. With one exception, all patients were transfused in Israel (detailed data not shown), three with incompatible blood upon admission, based on initial serotype (patients 1,3,4 in the table). Tissue genotyping allowed us to transfuse compatible ABO-matched blood components afterward. All patients survived and were released in good condition. Tissue molecular genotyping helps improve patient blood management in the population of injured causalities from Syria.
No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
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