Use of preserved autologous red blood cells to absorb warm autoantibodies from the serum of patients receiving blood transfusion therapy.

This paper describes two practical methods for the preservation of pretransfusion patient red blood cells for antigen typing and autoabsorption during a course of transfusion therapy. Blood samples from patients who had serum warm autoantibodies and a positive direct antiglobulin test were collected, the serum frozen, and the red cell aliquots separately preserved by PVP-methanol or formaldehyde fixation. After storage and recovery, the IgG antibodies were dissociated and the cells used for absorption of the warm autoantibodies. The preserved red cells removed the warm autoantibodies as effectively as fresh red blood cells from the same patient. Preservation of autologous red cells prior to the onset of transfusion therapy provides an extension of the autoabsorption procedure and a simple alternative to differential absorption.