Wra-positive red blood cells

Red blood cells for the detection of Wr^a antibodies

Ever since Holman described the first example of anti-Wr^a in 1953, probably thousands of examples of this antibody have been found. Long before Wr^a became part of the Diego system, this resulted in it being probably the most studied of all low frequency antigens (LFAs) on serological level.

Many thousands of typing tests were carried out with anti-Wr^a. Different studies show that the occurrence of the Wr^a-antigen in the Caucasian population is on average 1 in 1365 persons. Many studies have showed an independent separation of Wr^a from other blood groups loci, even before Wr^a was recognized as an antigen in the Diego system. This means that the production of Wr^a is controlled by a gene on chromosome 17.

The Wr^a gene survives the treatment of red cells with, among others, trypsin, papain, chymotrypsin en neuraminidase. The antigen is fully developed at birth.

Find the Wr^a-positive antigen pattern by matching the ID number on the label of your vial with the ID number in this overview.