Lorne Labs supply and manufacture a range of quality IVD blood grouping reagents including ABO reagents, Rhesus reagents, Kell reagents and Rare reagents such as Anti-M, Anti-N & Anti-S which are manufactured in full compliance with all UK and European regulatory requirements. Each reagent is supplied at optimal dilution for use with slide, tube, gel card & microplate blood grouping techniques. Our specialist blood grouping products also includes Inert AB Serum for use as a control and anti-human globulin for use in procedures including Coombs tests. View our product section below to see our full range of Blood Grouping Reagents.
What are Blood Grouping Reagents?
Blood grouping reagents are solutions that are used to determine human blood group antigens (such as ABO, Rhesus, Kell, and MNS blood group antigens). The ABO and the RhD blood group systems are the most important blood groups in transfusions. Blood groups are characterised by either a carbohydrate molecule (such as the ABO blood group antigens) or a protein (such as most other antigens) on the surface of the human red cell. The ABO system consists of the A and B antigens and the RhD system has the D antigen. There are 4 ABO blood group types in total, which are O, A, B, and AB. The rhesus (RhD) reagents are used to detect the presence or absence of the D antigen on the surface of human red blood cells. Anti-A, Anti-B and, Anti-A, B reagents are used to determine the ABO blood group, whilst the different Anti-D reagents are used to determine the rhesus D phenotype. Anti-K and Anti-k (Cellano) reagents are used to detect antigens in the Kell blood group system.
Lorne Labs Blood Grouping Reagents are used to test for blood group A, blood group B, blood group AB and blood group O. We also offer other reagents such as Anti-C, Anti-c, Anti-E, Anti-e, and Anti-K which are used to detect antigens of the Rhesus and Kell blood group systems on red blood cells in humans.
The importance of Blood Grouping Reagents
Giving blood of a suitable blood group to a patient during a blood transfusion is vitally important. This requires making sure a donor’s blood is compatible with the receiving patient’s blood. If a patient were to receive a blood transfusion using blood that is incompatible with the patient’s blood (due to the wrong blood group), the consequences can be life-threatening as mixing blood of incompatible blood groups can cause intravenous agglutination of blood cells in the patient’s blood. Agglutination is caused when complete antibodies bind to their complementary antigens on red cells and form a lattice work of red cells which can cause a life threatening episode in the body.
Blood grouping reagents are the solutions that detect blood groups. In Europe, a blood donor’s blood is typed for at least 8 different blood groups, requiring 8 different blood grouping reagents, before the donation is released for transfusion into a patient. Several techniques can be used to detect blood groups dependant on the type of reagent and are based on the binding of an antibody to the appropriate antigen which is called agglutination. Common techniques include gel card techniques, blood typing slides, test tubes and microplate techniques.
It is vital that those undertaking blood grouping work use high quality sera to ensure an accurate result.
Optimal performance of reagents with careful handling and storage
When using the reagents during testing, care has to be taken with handling blood samples, as there may be a risk of transmitting infection. The instructions for use provided by the manufacturer for using the reagents should be followed carefully and the reagents should only be used within their use by date. The reagents are designed for use at around room temperature and contamination with other substances needs to be avoided. For optimum use, and to keep these reagents in a good working condition, they should be stored in a fridge. This means they should be kept below room temperature, between 2 and 8 °C.
Lorne Labs are leading manufacturers and experts in blood grouping and transfusion, our high-quality blood grouping reagents are accurate, easy to use, and are manufactured in full compliance with all UK and European regulatory requirements to meet the needs of our distributors, blood banks hospital laboratories and transfusion centres.