Anti‐Erythrocyte Antibody Formation in Individuals With and Without Known Sensitisation Pathways Reflecting Indications for Extended Immunohaematology Screening

BACKGROUND: Blood transfusion therapies are of vital importance for many patient groups. They can lead to various complications, with the production of anti-erythrocyte antibodies (RBC Ab) being of particular importance. To ascertain which group of participants requires greater protection against RBC Abs, we conducted a study on the antibody incidence in part of Bosnia and Herzegovina-Republika Srpska. METHODS: We investigated the yearly incidence of the identified RBC Abs from 2016 until the end of 2022. The identification of RBC Abs was performed using the gel method on various platforms with commercial immunohaematological panels. For statistical analysis, Python 3.12 was used. The groups were formed based on the likely form of the RBC Ab development. RESULTS: In 1106 participants, a total of 1297 antibodies were detected. All groups of patients showed significance that corresponded to the statistical hypothesis set beforehand, which indicated the influence of additional undefined parameters. In the third group, containing participants with no known history of an immunisation pathway, a significant result was observed for anti-K (p = 1.344 × 10^-6), which was completely unexpected. CONCLUSION: All study groups indicated that it would be advantageous to implement the additional analyses to their routine testing. Further research is needed to identify and prepare prevention strategies for all patient groups from this study.