Prevalence of Anti-Erythrocyte Alloantibodies and Relevant Factors among the Patients with Thalassemia Major in Kermanshah, Iran

 The major treatment for thalassemia is a transfusion. The present study aimed to determine the frequency of erythrocyte alloantibodies and the relevant factors among the patients with thalassemia major in Kermanshah city, Iran.

Thiscross-sectional study was performed on 218 thalassemia major patients with 2-48 years old, referred to thalassemia boarding clinic at the Dr. Mohammad Kermanshahi Hospital in Kermanshah city, Iran. Blood samples from thalassemia patients (5 ml) were examined in terms of the presence of erythrocyte antibodies (using the screening antibody test), and additional information including age, blood Rh, spleen status was extracted from the patients’ profile. The information was finally analyzed using SPSS software version 20.0.

A total of 74 patients (33.9%) had alloantibody, and 144 (67.1%) lacked antibody. The mean age of the subjects was 21.85±8.083 years. The oldest and youngest subjects were 48 and 2 years old, respectively. The sample population included 114 men (52.3%) and 104 women (47.7%).  35.8% of the patients underwent splenectomy. There was no significant relationship between blood Rh, spleen status, and incidence of alloantibodies (all P> 0.05).

The high prevalence of Alloimmunization in the present study requires a more detailed examination of donated blood for compatibility of main and sub blood groups.