Blood grouping with monoclonal anti-N antibodies

Four monoclonal antibodies (N1, N3, N4 and N5) with specificity for the N blood group have been produced from fusions in which human erythrocytes were used as the immunizing stimulus. N1 and N3 differed from N4 and N5 with regard to their serological specificities and pH optima. Antibody N3 has been assessed for its suitability as a blood grouping reagent by testing 10,767 blood donors in parallel with Vicia graminea anti-N lectin or rabbit anti-N. There was complete correlation between the results obtained with the monoclonal and conventional reagents providing strong evidence that N3 is a reliable and potent blood grouping reagent.