Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 9, 2026

Methods for Quantitative Detection of Antibody-induced Complement Activation on Red Blood Cells
Published on: January 29, 2014
Spectrum of Changes in RBC Indices and Histograms in Blood from Subjects with Cold Antibodies
Chidambharam Choccalingam1, Aarthi Kannan1
1Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, Chettinad Medical College , Kelambakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India .
Abstract:
Cold antibodies are mostly immunoglobulin M, which interact with red cell antigens at lower temperatures (<37°C). The analysis of samples from subjects with cold antibodies in automated haematology analysers may show abnormal Red Blood Corpuscles (RBC) indices and changes in histogram. High Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin (MCH) and Mean Haemoglobin Concentration (MCHC) along with plateau effect beyond 110fl at Upper Discriminator (RU) end of RBC histogram are good indicators of presence of cold antibodies in plasma. Cold antibodies in plasma must be considered while reporting the peripheral smear in presence of plateau effect beyond 110fl at RU end of RBC histogram.
Related Concept Videos
Blood Typing
Antigens are protein molecules that reside on the surface of red blood cells (RBCs). The ABO and Rh blood typing systems target...
Blood Transfusion and Agglutination
History
The history of blood transfusion dates back to the 17th century, when early attempts were made in animals. In 1818 James Blundell, a British doctor, performed the first successful human blood transfusion. Later in 1900, Karl...
Blood Types
ABO blood group
ABO antigens are glycoproteins encoded by genes present on...

