OBJECTIVETo investigate the frequency of anti-Mur and Mur antigen among blood donors in Guangzhou to provide evidence for guiding clinical transfusion and prenatal screening.

METHODSDG Gel Coombs cards were used to screen active anti-Mur at 37 degrees celsius; from 2725 blood donors. Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) was used to genotype Mur antigen from 91 blood donors, and human anti-Mur serum was used to verify the phenotypes deduced from the genotypes.

RESULTSThe frequency of anti-Mur and genotyped Mur antigen was 0.04% (1/2725) and 6.59% (6/91), respectively, and the phenotyping results were consistent with the genotyping results.

CONCLUSIONThe blood donors in Guangzhou show a low frequency of anti-Mur and a relatively high frequency of Mur antigen. Genotyping using MLPA allows Mur antigen genotyping when commercial anti-Mur is not available.