Neutralization of Lewis blood group antibodies by synthetic immunoadsorbents.

The neutralization of antibodies to the Lewis blood group systems is important in confirming the presence of these antibodies and in investigating complex alloantibody problems. An improved method for neutralizing Lewis antibodies is described. Insoluble immunoadsorbents containing synthetic Lewis antigens are used to physically remove the antibody from serum. Thirty-five sera containing Lewis antibodies were neutralized completely using this technic; 23 non-Lewis alloantibodies were not inhibited. In contrast with current methods, this technic does not dilute the patient serum and results in an affinity purified serum sample.