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Anti-Emm, a rare specificity to the high-incidence antigen Emm in an Indian patient defining the new blood group system EMM (ISBT042)
Ripal J Shah1, Snehal B Senjaliya2, V Harimoorthy3, Anna Burgos4, Sunitha Vege5, Christine Lomas-Francis6, Connie M Westhoff7, Sanmukh Ratilal Joshi8
1 Director, Prathama Blood Center, Ahmadabad, Gujarat, India
2 Research Assistant, Lok Samarpan Regional Blood Bank and Research Centre, Surat, Gujarat, India
3 Quality Section Officer, Prathama Blood Center, Ahmadabad, Gujarat, India
4 Lead Technologist, Immunohematology Laboratory, New York, USA
5 Technical Director, Genomics Laboratory, New York, USA
6 Technical Director, Immunohematology Laboratory, New York, USA
7 Executive Scientific Director, Immunohematology and Genomics Laboratory, New York Blood Centre, Long Island City, New York, USA
8 Director, Lok Samarpan Regional Blood Bank and Research Centre, Surat, Gujarat, India
Correspondence Address:
Sanmukh Ratilal Joshi
Lok Samarpan Regional Blood Centre, Mini Bazar, Varachha Road, Surat - 395 006, Gujarat
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/ajts.ajts_59_21
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A transfusion recipient lacking a high-incidence antigen (HIA) and has corresponding alloantibody pose a problem in providing compatible blood unit. We encountered a patient with an antibody to an HIA that required identification to assess if compatible blood could be organized. A 65-year-old male was posted for coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. His blood specimen collected in EDTA was referred to the blood bank to provide blood for transfusion. The patient, grouped AB RhD+, had an antibody reacting in saline and antiglobulin phases. It agglutinated all the red blood cells (RBCs) of the 11-cell panel and random donors, indicating specificity to an HIA, though one of his siblings was compatible. After ruling out specificity to HIAs such as H, Inb, and INRA (IN5), the specimen was referred to the New York Blood Centre for further work-up. The antibody reacted with examples of red cells lacking HIA, except those with the Emm− phenotype. The patient's RBCs were typed as Emm−. Anti-Emm in the patient appeared to be naturally occurring as there was no history of transfusion. Naturally occurring alloantibody to an HIA, identified as anti-Emm in phenotype Emm−, is rare and the first of its kind to be reported from India. The case was instrumental in recognizing the Emm as the new blood group system assigned with the symbol ISBT042.
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