The New York Blood Center provides reference laboratory services to assist hospitals in solving patient antibody problems and supplying suitable units of blood. The Reference Laboratory test and resolve blood group antibody and antigen problems on referred samples received locally, nationally, and worldwide. This laboratory provides antigen negative RBC blood for transfusion to patients with red cell antibodies, and when appropriate, screened RBC units.

Lab of Immunohematology
In addition, the NYBC Immunohematology Laboratory provides serological consultation to client hospitals in resolving immunohematological problems. This group of specialized technologists participate in educational programs in Immunohematology and trains NYBC fellows, visiting MDs, and other visitors. Another important service this laboratory provides is to screen donor samples to identify rare donors whose RBCs lack a high prevalence blood group antigen. The laboratory maintains a large collection of rare cell samples and antibody samples, and identifies and publishes novel findings.

Everyone inherits their ABO blood type (A, B, AB and O), and blood is tested to make sure blood donors and recipients are ABO-compatible. A small percentage of people also inherit a second and unusual blood type and need transfusions of more precisely matched blood, frequently referred to as rare blood. Others who have received many transfusions may develop antibodies to antigens in donated blood, which can lead to transfusion reactions.

Click here for a guide to the terminology used to describe blood group antigens, maintained by the International Society for Blood Transfusion (ISBT).

The Laboratory of Immunohematology, under the direction of Marion Reid, PhD, receives more than 1,800 requests annually from hospitals and blood centers nationwide for help in identifying antibodies, and over 20 requests daily for assistance in matching donors to patients. The tests are complex, often lengthy, and rely on the skill of the laboratory's experienced technicians.

A sister facility, the Laboratory of Immunochemistry, also headed by Dr. Reid, studies ways to make this cross matching more accurate and efficient and reduce the opportunity for error. The laboratory's researchers are working on the development of single proteins that carry only a few antigens thereby replacing the numerous and multiple techniques used to find a match. Expression of single proteins could become the basis for a fast, objective and automated test.

Dr. Reid and her colleagues have found ways to decrease the reliance on hard-to-find samples of rare blood serum containing particular antibodies. They generate new monoclonal antibodies, by preparing novel immunogens, which trigger production of the antibodies needed for typing blood donors. They are working on ways to convert IgG monoclonal antibodies to IgM directly agglutinating antibodies that can be easily used in laboratory tests. The monoclonal antibodies were developed in the Rare Blood Research Initiative Laboratory funded by The MetLife Foundation. The antibodies are available at no charge for donor and patient testing. For a complete list of antibodies click here.

Immunohematology researchers also are developing easier ways to use DNA analysis in blood typing. This is important when a patient's blood sample contains red blood cells from more than one donor. These tests are also used to find blood for patients who receive frequent transfusions and to rule out hemolytic disease of the newborn.