Abstract
The Dia antigen is well known as one of the antigens with low incidence among Caucasians; however, it has been discovered with a relatively higher incidence among Mongoloid populations. Thus, it has been speculated that the incidence of unexpected antibody against the Dia antigen might be relatively higher among these populations. Hemolytic transfusion reactions (HTRs) and hemolytic disease of the newborns (HDNs) caused by anti-Dia have been reported sporadically. However, there has been no prospective study on the incidence of anti-Dia in Mongoloid populations particularly. The authors conducted a series of antibody screening tests on 11,219 Korean individuals for 25 months, by using three kinds of screening cells including Dia cell. Anti-Dia was detected in 8 patients, seven of whom had a history of transfusions or were multigravida. The incidence of anti-Dia measured in this study was higher than expected, ranked third among unexpected antibodies identified during the period of the study, so it is strongly recommended that the Dia+ panel cell must be incorporated into antibody screening test for safer transfusion in Asian-Mongoloid populations.