Detection of Anti-Lua in an Unexpected Antibody Screening Test: A Case Report and Literature Review / 대한수혈학회지

Lutheran a antigen (Lua) is detected in 6 to 8% of Caucasians and Africans. In Korean and other Asian populations, it is very rare or nearly absent. Therefore, although Lua has a considerable immunizing capacity, sensitization to Lua is a rare event. Here we report on a rare case of anti-Lua in a 70 year-old female patient with Lu (a-/b+) phenotype and review the relevant literature. Due to the paucity of Lua positive panel cells in antibody screening and identification tests, detection of this rare antibody to Lua antigen is not feasible. Therefore, we should keep in mind the possibility of the misleading false negative result in detection of antibody to this low incidence antigen.