Principles of Immunohematology

Abstract

Immunohematology is such a bull market these days that everyone is trying to explain it to everyone else. These French authors, from the regional blood transfusion center in Lille, have attempted to condense and compile the principal elements of immunohematology for an audience consisting of students, physicians, transfusion technicians and obstetricians. It can't be done, especially by authors whose native language is not English. There is excellent summary material in several areas, notably serum protein alloantigens, technical problems in blood grouping procedures, and bibliographic material emphasizing European literature, but neither the neophyte nor the experienced worker will find the book fully satisfactory. Well over half the text and three quarters of the technical appendix discuss erythrocyte antigens and antibodies, but detailed attention has been bestowed capriciously. The superficial discussions of clinical topics like transfusion reactions and hemolytic disease of the newborn contrast with compressed but highly sophisticated accounts of antigenic