New cost-effective human leukocyte antigen testing algorithm for screening of human leukocyte antigen-matched related donor in thalassemia major patient pretransplant workup: A single-center study from resource-constrained settings

Introduction: India has a huge disease burden of thalassemia major with an estimated 40 million carriers and over a million thalassemia major patients. Very few patients are optimally treated, and the standard of care “hematopoietic stem cell transplant” (HSCT) is out of reach for most patients and their families. The cost of HSCT is significant, and a substantial proportion of it goes to human leukocyte antigen (HLA) testing of family members (HLA screening) in hope of getting a matched related donor (MRD) for HSCT. The aim of this study was to establish that a new proposed testing algorithm of HLA typing would be more cost-effective as compared to the conventional HLA screening within MRD families for possible HSCT. Material and Methods: Buccal swab samples of 177 thalassemia patients and their prospective family donors (232) were collected. Using a new HLA testing algorithm, samples were tested for HLA typing in a sequential manner (first HLA-B, then HLA-A, and finally HLA-DR) using the sequence-specific oligonucleotide probe method on the Luminex platform. Results: The new sequential HLA-A, HLA-B, and HLA-DRB1 testing algorithm showed a 49.1% reduction in cost compared to the conventional HLA testing algorithm. Furthermore, 40 patients (22.59%) were found to have HLA-MRD within the family among other samples that were tested. Conclusion: The new HLA testing algorithm proposed in the present study for identifying MRD for HSCT resulted in a substantial reduction in the cost of HSCT workup.

Challenges in diagnosis and management of acquired factor V inhibitors

Inhibitors to factor V is a rare phenomenon with varied clinical presentation ranging from asymptomatic states to life-threatening bleeds. They are known to be associated with exposure to bovine thrombin, drugs, autoimmune diseases and malignancies. Establishing the diagnosis of FV inhibitors is challenging and the presence of lupus-like properties of the inhibitor can further complicate the diagnosis. Here we document an unusual case of an asymptomatic elderly female posted for pacemaker implantation and incidentally, the laboratory workup revealed a disproportionately abnormal coagulation screen. The intricacies in the diagnosis and management are discussed along with a brief review of the literature. An awareness of the diverse manifestations of this underrecognized disorder and difficulties in management is essential for medical practitioners, particularly in patients with idiopathic severe bleeding diathesis.