Irregular isoantibodies in the sera of patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis.

We screened 89 patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis for irregular isoantibodies. Irregular isoantibodies were detected in six patients (6.7%). This is an extremely high percentage compared with previous reports, considering that the presence of irregular isoantibodies was estimated to be 2.91% in multiparas, in whom they were found most frequently. This may be due to the fact that hemodialysis patients often receive blood transfusions but it also suggests that hemodialysis per se may induce the production of irregular isoantibodies. The blood-group specificities of the irregular isoantibodies detected were anti-N, anti-Leb + anti-HI, anti-Lea + anti-Leb, anti-H and anti-I, anti-P1, anti-rh" (E). The majority of the cases with irregular isoantibodies were examined because of clinical problems during hemodialysis. Therefore, we checked for the presence of irregular isoantibodies before the induction of hemodialysis and every three to six months thereafter.