ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to develop a rapid method for human neutrophil antigen‐2 (HNA‐2) genotyping and use it for fast screening for the HNA‐2 deficiency phenotype in the Chinese population.BackgroundHNA‐2 is encoded by the CD177 gene, and a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at cDNA position 787 (CD177*787 A > T) creates a stop codon, which is responsible for the HNA‐2 deficiency phenotype. Recently, the SNP c.787A > T has been demonstrated to be the primary genetic mechanism for HNA‐2 deficiency.MethodsThis study focused on determination of CD177 SNP c.787A > T. We designed a set of allele‐ and sequence‐specific primers (SSP), which were used to develop a one‐tube polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for HNA‐2 genotyping. The HNA‐2 genotype of a total of 2185 Chinese blood donors was determined.ResultsThe validation of this HNA‐2 genotyping assay was confirmed by sequencing analysis. The HNA‐2 two alleles, CD177*787A and 787T, can be simultaneously determined in a single tube PCR. Thirteen individuals with the CD177*787AT genotype were detected in this study. The CD177*787TT homozygous genotype was absent, suggesting that HNA‐2 deficiency is rare in the Chinese population.ConclusionsThe validated assay described in this study is a rapid and reliable method for HNA‐2 genotyping, which may be used for fast screening for HNA‐2 deficiency.