Book Review

Article Outline

• Copyright

THE TOPIC OF immunohematological methods deserves a prominent place among the concerns of blood bankers because of the plethora of methods that exist and the fact that adequate training for many bench technologists who might be faced with serological incompatibilities is not as common as it once was. Thus, books that clearly indicate appropriate methods to be used for specific serological problems are extremely valuable. This latest edition of the previously titled Methods in Immunohematology provides the comprehensiveness and clarity for those individuals interested in serological (immunohematological) investigations. It has been 16 years since the last (second) edition of this book, and this third edition has little resemblance to its previous counterpart. For one thing, the page number has increased in this edition from 476 pages to 667. Importantly, however, the printed paper used in this edition has a much better contrast than the previous editions, making it much more attractive and easier to read. One major change from the previous edition is the inclusion of 2 additional coauthors, Sue Johnson and Jill Storry, who have complimentary areas of expertise to that of John Judd. This combination of authors has allowed for an important evolution of this valuable reference book.

The format for all the procedures has been changed to an information mapped style. Processes and procedures are now described in separate documents as opposed to the standard operating procedure (SOP) format where process and procedure were all contained in 1 document. These procedures are also contained on a CD-ROM component supplied with this book, which will allow procedures to be modified to fit the characteristics of each individual laboratory. This brilliant addition allows blood bank transfusion services and immunohematology reference laboratories to modify them, if necessary, to fit their laboratory's requirements as a procedure to be used in their in-house SOPs.

In addition, a new Appendix A is included, which lists reagent preparations in a step-by-step format that will benefit many transfusion service and reference laboratory technologists. Another innovation is the use of process documents that have been added to the antibody identification section. This includes a basic approach to be taken when evaluating initial antibody identification panel results, including the crossing out and selecting of cells. This is a nice innovative addition to the book because there are essentially no other written materials that provide a step-by-step procedure for basic crossing out and evaluation of antibody investigation results. In addition, a written process and flow charts are provided for evaluating patients with hemolysis and/or a positive DAT and patients with antibodies to high-prevalence and low-prevalence antigens. This provides the reader with a clear and concise description for the evaluation of difficult immunohematological problems that will benefit both bench technologists and clinical transfusion medicine doctors. New Appendices C and D have also been added to address the hazards of, and how to respond to, various chemical spills. These appendices should be very useful and much appreciated by both laboratory personnel and occupational health and safety committees.

The section on the investigation of drug-induced hemolysis has been totally reorganized and is very up to date. The most current procedures have been added for testing drug-treated red blood cells as well as testing patient serum in the presence of drug. The different categories of drug-induced hemolytic anemias have been updated to reflect current thinking of the mechanisms involved. Another important addition to this section is the completely updated Table of Drugs that have been reported to cause hemolysis and/or a positive DAT. This is the most up-to-date table on drugs that can cause a positive DAT and/or hemolysis that currently exists.

Some may believe that the references used in this edition are somewhat outdated, but I would beg to differ. Although not extensive for obvious reasons, I believe that the referencing used in this book is appropriate. The authors have provided a balance between the historical literature and more recent publications. In most cases, the authors include a citation to the current edition of the AABB Technical Manual, which has the advantage of being updated continuously, thus allowing this edition to be, in a sense, always current. I found the inclusion of many ‘obsolete’ procedures again, as for the references used, as providing some historical significance to the resolution of complex serological problems. I also agree with the Preface, which indicates that including these ‘historical’ procedures ensures that they are not lost and; indeed, some of these methods could still be applicable, under certain circumstances, to resolve some very complex serological problem. One other innovation to this edition of the book that stands out is the inclusion of “Limitations” for each of the methods described. This is not often found in other Methods books and provides information that is vital to the understanding of the method being used and how to troubleshoot, if necessary.

Much has changed over the 16 years since the appearance of the last edition of this Methods book. All of the changes that have occurred, particularly the way that SOPs are written, have been superbly addressed in this third edition. Overall, this book offers comprehensive and detailed instructions for a range of serological investigations and problems that will be very useful to its intended readership. It will also be useful for teaching new personnel and refreshing seasoned personnel on the serological problems that can appear at any time and how to resolve such problems. This book should be required reference material for blood bankers, immunohematology reference laboratories, as well as laboratory and clinical transfusion specialists.