Atypical Antibody Screen (handwritten tube label)

Description

The RBC antibody screen looks for circulating antibodies in the blood directed against red blood cells (RBCs). The primary reason that a person may have RBC antibodies circulating in the blood is that the person has been exposed, through blood transfusion or through pregnancy, to RBCs other than his or her own (foreign RBCs). These antibodies have the potential to cause harm if a person is transfused with red blood cells that the antibodies may target or if a pregnant woman has antibodies that target the red cells of her developing baby.