Distribution of Rh Subgroups and Kell Antigens in Patients with Thalassemia

Abstract

First-line therapy for thalassemia patients is blood transfusion. Patients who get repeated transfusions of red blood cells (RBCs) risk developing an immune response to the RBCs, resulting in a hemolytic transfusion reaction and even death. Patients who get phenotype blood transfusions are less likely to experience these side effects. Between 2014 and 2015, researchers at Baghdad’s Ibn Al-Baladi Thalassemia Hospital performed a prospective survey and collected samples.