Matthew Hazell: AABB 2026 – Beyond the Antibody Screen in Complex Immunohematology Reference Testing
Matthew Hazell, Consultant Clinical Scientist at NHS Blood and Transplant, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Catching up on a few AABB 2026 sessions I didn’t manage to post about while in Atlanta!
One I particularly enjoyed was ‘Beyond the Antibody Screen: Advanced Immunohematology Case Studies in Transfusion Laboratories’, led by Claribel Resto with Tara King, Naghena Ghulam and Michelle Conceicao from OneBlood.
This was very much my kind of session.
Rather than a traditional antibody identification lecture, the team worked through progressive real-world cases, with the audience making decisions as increasingly complex information became available.
The cases brought together some of the areas that make complex immunohaematology so interesting:
- Red cell genotyping alongside conventional serology
- Interpretation of complex Rh variants and evolving D classifications
- Investigation of multiple antibodies and antibodies to high-incidence antigens
- The Monocyte Monolayer Assay (MMA) to help assess clinical significance when compatible blood cannot be found
- Accessing rare blood through the American Rare Donor Program
- And, importantly, bringing all of that information together to make a clinically appropriate transfusion decision
I was particularly interested in the discussion around the MMA.
When every available unit appears incompatible, the question changes from simply ‘can we find compatible blood?’ to ‘what does this antibody actually mean for this patient, and what is the safest option available?’
That is where reference immunohaematology becomes much more than antibody identification.
Serology, molecular testing, clinical history, specialist assays, rare donor searches and multidisciplinary discussion all contribute pieces of the puzzle.
A really enjoyable, practical session and a great example of why the most complex cases rarely have their answer sitting neatly in a single test result.”
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