Secondary (anamnestic) anti D alloimmunization following transfusion of a DEL phenotype rhesus D negative unit: A case report highlighting the need for DEL screening in India.
- 1Department of Transfusion Medicine, BLK-Max Super Specialty Hospital, New Delhi, India.
Abstract
The DEL phenotype is recognized as one of the weakest forms of the D antigen and can be identified through adsorption-elution testing or molecular analysis. At present, routine serologic or genetic screening for DEL variants is not performed among serologically RhD-negative blood donors in India. We describe a rare and clinically significant case of secondary anti-D alloimmunization in an RhD-negative female who developed anti-D antibodies following transfusion of a red blood cell (RBC) unit that was serologically typed as RhD-negative and weak D-negative, but was subsequently confirmed to possess the DEL phenotype. The DEL phenotype represents an extremely weak expression of the D antigen, which often remains undetectable by conventional serologic testing and requires adsorption-elution methods or molecular techniques for definitive identification. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first documented instance from India of anti-D alloimmunization arising specifically from transfusion of DEL phenotype red blood cells.
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BibTeX
@article{prajapat2026secondary,
title = {{Secondary (anamnestic) anti D alloimmunization following transfusion of a DEL phenotype rhesus D negative unit: A case report highlighting the need for DEL screening in India.}},
author = {Priyasha Prajapat and Rasika Dhawan Setia and Mitu Dogra},
journal = {Asian journal of transfusion science},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.4103/ajts.ajts_242_25},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42953824},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Secondary (anamnestic) anti D alloimmunization following transfusion of a DEL phenotype rhesus D negative unit: A case report highlighting the need for DEL screening in India.
AU - Priyasha Prajapat
AU - Rasika Dhawan Setia
AU - Mitu Dogra
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - Asian journal of transfusion science
DO - 10.4103/ajts.ajts_242_25
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42953824
AB - The DEL phenotype is recognized as one of the weakest forms of the D antigen and can be identified through adsorption-elution testing or molecular analysis. At present, routine serologic or genetic screening for DEL variants is not performed among serologically RhD-negative blood donors in India. We describe a rare and clinically significant case of secondary anti-D alloimmunization in an RhD-negative female who developed anti-D antibodies following transfusion of a red blood cell (RBC) unit that was serologically typed as RhD-negative and weak D-negative, but was subsequently confirmed to possess the DEL phenotype. The DEL phenotype represents an extremely weak expression of the D antigen, which often remains undetectable by conventional serologic testing and requires adsorption-elution methods or molecular techniques for definitive identification. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first documented instance from India of anti-D alloimmunization arising specifically from transfusion of DEL phenotype red blood cells.
SN - 0973-6247
SN - 1998-3565
ER -