Anti-A and Anti-B Titer Among Blood Group O Donors at a Tertiary Care Centre Lahore, Pakistan

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of IgM and IgG type anti-A and anti-B antibodies and the titer of these antibodies among blood group O donors at a tertiary care hospital. This is a cross-sectional study conducted at the department of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine in Children's Hospital and the Institute of Child Health, Lahore, Pakistan over a period of four months from Oct, 2019 to Feb, 2020. Blood samples were collected from 350 healthy and voluntary group "O" donors (males = 320 and females = 30, median age 27 years +/- 6.4 SD). Estimation of IgM type anti-A and anti-B titers was done using the standard tube technique and the samples positive for hemolysis were further evaluated for titers of IgG type anti-A and anti-B. All the titers were confirmed microscopically. The total prevalence of IgG anti-A and anti-B hemolysins was 15.9%. The most frequently observed IgM anti-A and anti-B titers were 64 in 29.4% (n = 103) and 32 in 24.9% (n = 87) donor samples, respectively. IgG type anti-A and anti-B with hemolytic activity were present in 10.8% and 5.1% donor samples, respectively. IgG type anti-A and anti-B alone were observed in 9.1% and 3.4% donor samples, respectively while both IgG type anti-A and anti-B were observed in 1.7% donor samples. Gender, age and Rh blood group did not have any significant impact on anti-A and anti-B titer frequencies. To conclude IgM and IgG anti-A and anti-B antibodies exist in significant frequencies and titers among group O donors in Lahore. It is recommended that the transfusion of group O blood to non-O recipients should be done after evaluating the titer of anti-A and anti-B hemolysins.