Patient blood management in a patient with multiple red cell antibodies (anti-C, anti-e, and anti-K) undergoing liver transplant in South India: A team approach

We report a case of a 64-year-old female from Bahrain, a known case of hepatitis C-related ESLD referred for LT surgery. She had a history of multiple uneventful transfusions in the preceding year. Her blood group was A-positive, direct antiglobulin test, and cold antibodies were negative. Indirect antiglobulin test was positive, and antibody identification confirmed the presence of anti-C, anti-e, and anti-K. Her red cell phenotype was R2R2and Kell negative (C-c+E+e-K-). The patient was started on erythropoietin. Requests for R2R2and Kell negative units were sent to various blood banks across the country. After >800 A/O group units phenotyping and a waiting period of 6 weeks, two compatible R2R2phenotypes and Kell negative could be arranged in-house and three units were received from Gurgaon, North India. Intraoperative management included blood preservation techniques including cell salvage, antifibrinolytic drug, and monitoring using thromboelastography. The estimated blood loss was 350 ml with pre- and postoperative Hb 10.4 gm% and 9.2 gm%, respectively. She received intraoperatively two units of single-donor platelet and four units of fresh frozen plasma and postoperatively one unit of leukocyte-depleted-packed red cells and doing well at 12-month follow-up. This case highlights the importance of advance immunohematology for timely detection of alloimmunization and providing antigen-negative compatible units, proper ...
Source: Asian Journal of Transfusion Science - Category: Hematology Authors: Source Type: research