Self help for platelet serologists: the Australian Platelet Antibody Workshops

The first three Australian Platelet Antibody Workshops (APAW) were held under the auspices of the Australasian Society of Blood Transfusion (ASBT) in 1989, 1990 and 1991. Participants submitted serum samples to the convenor who coded and distributed samples to laboratories routinely performing platelet serology. Results were summarized and discussed at the annual ASBT meetings. This report documents the evolution of platelet antibody tests in Australia and demonstrates the marked improvements in the participants' ability to differentiate platelet-specific antibodies from HLA antibodies and to identify the alloantigenic specificity of platelet antibodies. Five reference laboratories in Australia now hold panels typed for at least three platelet alloantigens.