Frequency of red blood cell alloantibody in Kuwaiti population

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the alloimmunization against red blood cells ( RBC) among Kuwaiti population. Materials and Methods: Retrospective analysis of RBC alloimmunization among 179,045 Kuwaiti patients, pregnant women, and allogeneic blood donors was conducted for the period of 1992 - 2001. The frequency of 24 alloantibody specificities from 1,278 alloimmunized Kuwaitis was estimated. Results: The prevalence of positive antibody screen in Kuwait was 0.49%. The five most frequently identified alloantibodies were anti- D ( 27.3%), anti- E ( 18.5%), anti- K ( 15.6%), anti- Le(a) ( 8.7%), and anti-Le(b) ( 6.6%). Frequency of alloimmunization was greater among Kuwaiti female than male patients ( 3.2 F to 1 M). Anti-D ( p < 0.001), anti- E ( p = 0.05), anti- K ( p = 0.04) were also more frequently identified alloantibody among Kuwaiti females. Conclusion: The results show higher predominance of RBC alloimmunization in females than males. Anti- D, anti- E, and anti- K were the most common clinically significant alloantibodies identified in the Kuwaiti population and were also more frequent among Kuwaiti females. Copyright (C) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel.