Platelet Activation Following Exposure to Anti-ABO Antibodies— An In Vitro Study

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Since platelets possess A and B antigen, mismatched ABO platelets could, theoretically, become activated or hypofunctional by exposure to anti-A or anti-B antibodies found in transfused or recipient plasma. Following normal baseline platelet aggregation to adenosine diphosphate (ADP), platelets from normal donors of different blood types were incubated at 37°C for 10 minutes with 50μl of normal saline (NS), O plasma, or AB plasma. Aggregation was then induced with ADP. No significant changes from baseline were seen in platelet aggregation studies following incubation with NS. However, platelet aggregations of type A and type B platelets were significantly inhibited when incubated with O plasma (mean of 41 and 22%, respectively). Our findings indicate that mediators in group O plasma, very likely anti-A and anti-B antibodies, cause impaired platelet aggregation of ABO non-identical platelets.