On the Development of Isoagglutinins Following Transfusions.

Abstract

Observations on individual differences in human blood aside from the 4 blood groups 1 , 2 support the idea that in transfusion the blood of the donor and recipient is, as a rule, not identical in biochemical constitution even though belonging to the same blood group.

In the literature instances are reported in which the first transfusion was uneventful while a repeated transfusion with the same compatible donor was followed by severe symptoms, 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 and others. There are, however, only casual remarks on the occurrence of atypical isoantibodies under such conditions.

We examined recently the sera of 4 individuals of group 0 and 3 of group A.∗ In 5 of these individuals, who had been transfused several times with the blood of the same donor of their own group, no abnormal agglutinins were observed. The 6th individual, of group 0, was transfused with blood (500 cc.) of the same group and the transfusion was repeated, using the same donor, since in the routine test no incompatibility was detected. Actually no untoward manifestation followed. On careful observation with a more delicate technique, however, an abnormal isoagglutinin was found in the serum of the transfused individual (after the 1st and 2nd transfusion) that reacted on numerous bloods and stronger on several others than on that of the donor. The reactions took place with bloods of group 0 and, as could be shown after removal by absorption of the common isoagglutinins, also with bloods of the other groups. Some of the results are recorded in the table.