To improve the quality of conclusions when identifying antibodies, a checklist is a simple quality control tool to increase transfusion safety.
If a specific antibody pattern cannot be identified with acceptable confidence, or if significant serologic or non-serologic data are inconsistent and cannot be rationalized, further testing will be required.
Before concluding that the investigation is complete, unless not applicable, mentally reply to each question in the checklist. If any answer is no, has it been resolved?
| Antibody Identification Checklist | Yes/No/NA |
1. For a single antibody, does the reaction pattern fit only one antibody specificity?
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2. Is antibody specificity consistent with the results of the initial antibody screen?
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3. Are reaction phases consistent with antibody specificity?
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4. If multiple antibodies are present, can all reactions be explained by the antibody combination?
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5. If the autocontrol is negative, are patient red cells negative for the corresponding antigen(s)?
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6. Have additional possible antibodies been excluded by selected red cells?
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7. Can all variable reaction strengths be explained?
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8. If tested, are antigen-negative donor cells compatible by antiglobulin crossmatch?
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9. If there are data that do not fit antibody specificity or if there are results that are improbable, are they explainable?
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10. Have all results and conclusions been systematically evaluated for consistency?
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