red blood cell alloimmunization in thalassemia patients in south-west iran

Aims: despite numerous studies on the prevalence of alloimmunization, its exact rate remains uncertain in many populations. in light of the iranian blood transfusion organization's recent national program to reduce alloantibody formation, this study investigated the prevalence of alloimmunization among thalassemia patients in kohgiluyeh and boyer-ahmad province, iran, and explored associated factors, such as donor-recipient antigen homogeneity and early transfusion initiation. instrument & methods: this cross-sectional study was conducted on 134 beta-thalassemia major patients registered at shahid beheshti hospital, yasuj, iran. antibody screening was performed using both the standard tube method and the gel method in the immunohematology laboratory of yasuj university of medical sciences. findings: out of 134 cases, 73 (54.48%) were female and 61 (45.52%) were male, with a mean age of 19.51±8.50 years. a high donor-recipient antigen homogeneity is suggested by the fact that 132 (98.5%) patients were native to yasuj. all patients received abo and rh (d)-matched, leukodepleted blood transfusions at intervals ranging from 14 to 60 days (mean: 22.7±6.3 days); 65.7% were splenectomized. alloantibodies were detected in two patients (1.49% prevalence; one with anti-k and one with anti-c), both of whom had undergone splenectomy. no autoantibodies or positive direct antiglobulin test results were observed. conclusion: there is a low prevalence of rbc alloimmunization among btm patients in kohgiluyeh and boyer-ahmad province.