PS1596 AUTOIMMUNIZATION AND ALLOIMMUNIZATION IN TRANSFUSION DEPENDANT THALASSEMIA MAJOR PATIENTS:STUDY ON 300 PATIENTS

Background:Thalassemia is the most common genetic disorder worldwide and one of the major public health problems. Thalassemia patients are dependent on blood transfusions for their survival but they may be associated with many complications. Development of anti red blood cell antibodies(bot alloantibodies and autoantibodies) is one of them. There is a paucity of data on the incidence of alloimmunization and autoimmunization in thalassemic patients in Pakistan,as pre transfusion antibody screening is not routinely performed. Autoantibodies can result in clinical hemolysis and difficulty in cross matching blood. We studied the frequency of Red cell alloimmunization and autoimmunization among Thalassemia patients who received regular transfusions at Sundas Foundation and also to determine types of these antibodies among Thalassemia patients.Aims:To study the frequency of Red Cell alloimmunization and autoimmunization among multiple transfused Thalassemia patients and to determine the types of these antibodies.Methods:A total of 300 multiple transfused Thalassemia patients were included in this study. Clinical and serological records of all the patients were examined. Screening and identification of antibodies was performed on fresh serum of all patients using 3 cell and 11 cell panel respectively. Detection of autoantibodies was done using using polyspecific Coombs(IgG+C3d) gel cards. Approval of this study was taken from the institutional review board. Informed consent was provided.Results:We identified alloantibodies in 17 patients,the most common were Anti E followed by Anti D,Anti C,Anti K,Anti Fyb,Anti‐M.4 patients developed autoantibodies.Summary/Conclusion:Alloimmunization is an immune respone stimulated by the transfusion of blood products. Overall rate of alloimmunization was 5.66% in our study while it is 30%/190 in Kuwait,4.97%/161 in India,5%/1435 in Italy,3.7%/1200 in Greece,5%/711 in Iran,9.2%/97 and 22.7%/75 in Pakistan.