Anyone out there use a single pooled cell reagent for antibody screening patients? If so, any pros or cons? Thanks.

Current regulations AABB, CAP, etc.  do not permit use of a single pooled cell reagent for pretransfusion compatibility testing.  Maybe on prenatals, but I don't used pooled cell for them either.

I think single cell (pooled) can only be used for donor testing.

4 hours ago, David Saikin said:

I think single cell (pooled) can only be used for donor testing.

This is my understanding as well.

Well they don't let us have any fun do they?

So not even on prenatals that aren't meant for compatibility testing?

It would be interesting to know how reference labs (Quest, LabCorp, ARUP etc.) do antibody screens on prenatal specimens.

There is a very good reason not to use pooled cells.  Many antibodies only react with cells with a double dose of the relevant antigen.  That does not mean that these antibodies are not clinically significant.  If you mix cells together, even if, for example cell I is Jka+b- and the other Jka-b+, you are diluting out the concentration of each antigen and you will miss the antibody if it is there.  Same goes for weak antibodies in general.  Pooled cells are OK if you are only looking for the type of antibody that jumps out of the tube at you - as for example for donors, and even then, it's not ideal.  You would need a good system for detecting DPs!  I don't know anybody who tests ante-natals only using pooled cells.  If they are they should be closed down!

I used to work at one of the above mentioned reference labs. When I started about 25 years ago,  they were using pooled cells on prenatals. We agreed that was not an acceptable practice even then & changed to the two cell screens.  We sometimes did 300 screens a day in tubes so that was a huge increase in workload. Before I left, we had migrated to two cell screens on an instrument.